Is University worth it?

[N.O.R.F]

It was expensive enough and now the CBI recommends students should be paying higher fees and loan interest rates should be in line with 'market rates'. Disgusting!

 

Uni days are brilliant but more people will miss out in the future due to the debts involved becoming greater.

 

University students in the UK should pay more for their loans and accept higher tuition fees as "inevitable", says a report from business leaders.

The Confederation of British Industry says the extra money needed to fund universities should come from savings in the student support system.

It also calls for more sponsorship and bursaries from businesses.

The National Union of Students attacked the report as "gross hypocrisy" from the "fat cats at the CBI".

In England, the government is set to launch a major review of the funding of higher education and student fees.

Higher education minister for England, David Lammy, said the government was committed to investing in "our world class system" and to the aspiration for 50% of young people to go to university.

The CBI is calling for that aim to be abandoned.

The report from its higher education task force looks at the options for funding universities.

Tough choices

The CBI says that higher education is vital to the economic future and it rejects options such as slashing teaching budgets and cutting student numbers.

"Instead, we say that savings should come from the student support system," said the CBI's director general, Richard Lambert.

 

This would mean reducing the subsidy on student loans, more means-testing of support and the hiking of tuition fees above the current levels of £3,225 per year in England and Northern Ireland and £1,285 in Wales.

In Scotland, there are no tuition fees.

The report also says universities should focus more on economically valuable subjects such as science, technology, engineering, maths and languages.

And it calls for the dropping of the ambition for 50% of young people to go to university.

The blueprint for bridging the gap in funding has outraged student leaders.

"At a time of economic crisis, when many hard-working families are struggling to support their offspring through university, I am astonished that the CBI should be making such offensive recommendations," said NUS president, Wes Streeting.

Divided opinions

The call for students to carry more of the financial burden marks a growing divide in opinions over how universities should be funded.

It is also the latest suggestion that attention should be shifted from the headline figure for tuition fees to the wider long-term cost of subsidised student support.

The 1994 Group of research universities has strongly welcomed the CBI's suggestions, saying that, without increased funding, higher education faces a "valley of death" of severe cutbacks.

 

These universities also back calls for higher fees and cutting the subsidy on student loans.

"The fees cap needs to be high enough to bring in sufficient funding and enhance competition to further drive up quality," said the 1994 Group's executive director, Paul Marshall.

"In addition, a sensible interest rate should be introduced on student loans, set at the current government cost of borrowing, to rectify the huge subsidy that the government currently pays."

The Russell Group, representing a group of prestigious universities, was also enthusiastic about the proposals.

"The CBI is right to call for an exploration of new sources of funding and to say that the priority is to maintain quality rather than expand numbers," said the Russell Group's director general, Wendy Piatt.

International survey

But the Million+ group of new universities opposes dropping the target of 50% of young people getting university places, saying it was "the wrong approach in a recession which has already caused one million young people to be unemployed".

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers attacked the proposals as "arrogant and elitist".

"The CBI should be arguing to maintain higher education funding in real terms, just as they argued for huge injections of cash to support failing businesses," said the ATL's Martin Freedman.

The need for extra funding for higher education was highlighted by an international report from the OECD last report which called for more university places as a way out of driving economic growth.

It showed that public and private spending on higher education in the UK is 1.3% of GDP - below the OECD average of 1.5%.

The Conservatives' university spokesman, David Willetts, said the proposals were "a good opportunity to bring this whole issue back to life".

The government is set to launch a review of the long-term funding of higher education later this autumn, but the final decision on raising tuition fees is unlikely to be made until after the general election.

Higher education minister David Lammy commented on the CBI proposal: "Participation in higher education is an investment both for the individual and for the nation.

"We should continue to widen access, not only because it's socially just, but also because our future economy will depend on having more people with higher level skills.

NUS president Wes Streeting: "I think these people are living on a different planet

http://news.bbc.co.u k/2/hi/uk_news/educa tion/8263672.stm

[SpectaKooler]

Whether its worth it or not depends on the outcome. University isnt for EVERYONE, you know.

[N.O.R.F]

^Please expand.

[Resistance]

University should be offered to all based on merit not on financial ability and all those who argue for higher fees are nothing but rich elist folks who wish to give their children an edge to price out University education for the average folk.

 

Even mickey mouse university degree is better than no education

[Ismahaan]

A higher education degree can open lots of doors for you. It is not just about boosting job prospects but it is also about personal development and intellectual curiosity. However, if you’re like a natural blonde bimbo, a university degree won’t help.

[Valenteenah.]

I think higher eduction is important but if I was going to get into the massive debts current students are accruing, going to uni wouldn't have appealed to me.

[strawberryampcream]

hike tuition fees, increase interest rates to market driven volatility? so what will the lending terms be i wonder, i mean we're talking about students with McDonalds part time jobs. will student loans face the same fate as the US sub-prime housing lending debacle?. wow talk about cutting the very branch you u stand on. wallstreet needs to step out of the classroom. this inordinate levy on education will lead to fewer qualified people to fill tomorrow's jobs, and that's worse for economic growth.

[Juxa]

Val true, lakin you can always work part time, live at home and apply for tuition grants.

 

it is doable, but if youngsters want to live large, then they would end up with mountains of debts.

[Miriam1]

Working part-time during university is not easy.

[Juxa]

nothing worth having is ever easy. i think it is doable

[Miriam1]

true it is doable. but totally destroys the uni experience.

 

also it depends if i get a job that pays minimum wage. is that enough for me to pay for tution??

[Juxa]

well i did not have uni experience, but by the time i finished i had solid work experience which helped with job applications.

 

also minimum wage wont cover the whole fee however it will help towards your living cost and reduce the total loans you require significantly.

 

haye kakac fadhiga

[MAXIMUS POWERS]

going to university is good and people should take the opportunity if they have the provisions, mind you, usually somali people have a lot of grants and funding avaliable to them, hence why there has been an increase in the number of Somali graduates Mashallah. There are many benefits indeed.

[Paragon]

[my opinion]: If it enlightens the mind, it's good. If it automates it, it's not.To know, you must. It's the whole point.

 

It was a good thing for me but not for the obvious reasons.

[Aaliyyah]

nowadays even a bachelor's degree is not enough. One has to have a job experience and pursue even higher education say grad school and gain masters degree in order to get a decent job.

 

So, yes university education is worth it, at least from my perspective.

 

salaam