University Degrees

[dvbuk55]

I have just watched a Tonight program on Uni degrees and the price of education from next year. Apparently it is going to cost £9000 a year for three years, so a total of £27000 which only has to be paid back if the student earns more than £21000 a year. A Government Minister suggested that the "graduate" may NEVER earn £21K a year and so the degree would in fact be free.

Now for the life of me I can't understand why as taxpayers we should fund some layabout at university for 3 years so that he can, at 21, get some pissant job at MCDonalds with a degree in Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.

So how many think that higher education beyond A levels is a waste of time for all but the gifted and we have far too many degrees with absolutely no value at all.

[DGP1]

FFS dvb, you been reading the Daily Wail again For a start, university graduates earn more than non graduates and that bit about £21k is really wide of the mark, we in an unskilled job can earn £20k a year so I imagine that they will earn more.
http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.c ... ates-earn/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tommase]

I have a Degree and only joined Royal Mail as a Postie for a couple of months ....... that was 5 years ago ! I have looked for other jobs and career paths. but there is not alot out there for the money we earn. Granted I work six days a week every week and the student loan company take their cut each week in turn.

[dvbuk55]

I have a Degree and only joined Royal Mail as a Postie for a couple of months ....... that was 5 years ago ! I have looked for other jobs and career paths. but there is not alot out there for the money we earn. Granted I work six days a week every week and the student loan company take their cut each week in turn.

Would you care to say what the degree is Tommase, because quite frankly many degrees are totally pointless. I'm convinced it is merely a con by the academics to justify not having to work for a living.

[Harry_Perkins]

Really, the cost of paying for tuition and living costs etc for 3 years is a drop in the ocean in the grand scheme of things. We're always told we can't afford this and we can't afford that anymore. It is pure rubbish. We can't afford it because we don't bother taxing the rich anymore. More people going to university has been a good thing and we need to get back to education being for education's sake rather than being concerned about whether it will be applicable for the world of work. I know I feel much better off having done some higher education, even though it hasn't lead to anything work wise. And yes, as above, I ended up paying for all my tuition too (although I did get a living costs grant). The limit was 15k when I started at RM a few years back.

[Royal_Fail]

They should pay it back regardless imo especially if they are attending top uni (9k)

And yeah we have a couple of guys in office with degrees

[fishtank]

University/further education is now just another business.
You're not funding some layabout at university for 3 years so they can get some pissant job at MCDonalds.
You're funding the University Board's over-inflated pay and pension package.
Blame the parents who drum into their kids that they are nothing without a degree no matter their aptitude for learning.
Blame the media for the same game....
Education can come from many sources and in many guises...it doesn't have to have 'ology at the end to be valid.
The kids...they are doing what they are told...for once.

[DGP1]

They should pay it back regardless imo especially if they are attending top uni (9k)

And yeah we have a couple of guys in office with degrees

What about all those politicians that got free education and are now wanting everyone to pay for it................they should be paying back money..........f***** leeches

[dvbuk55]

FFS dvb, you been reading the Daily Wail again For a start, university graduates earn more than non graduates and that bit about £21k is really wide of the mark, we in an unskilled job can earn £20k a year so I imagine that they will earn more.
http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.c ... ates-earn/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Well if you look at the list DGP, more than half don't earn the 21k necessary to pay their tuition fees. Probably a proportion of those with degrees merely go into perpetuating the con by teaching it.

[Harry_Perkins]

They should pay it back regardless imo especially if they are attending top uni (9k)

Yes, they should. Again, if we taxed the rich properly then some of those who benefit from HE who get well paying jobs would pay for their tuition many times over and would also pay for people going now. Instead, we have the nerve of MPs who benefited from mostly free higher education, with grants for living costs etc, pulling the rug from under anyone else who wants to do the same.

[dvbuk55]

Really, the cost of paying for tuition and living costs etc for 3 years is a drop in the ocean in the grand scheme of things. We're always told we can't afford this and we can't afford that anymore. It is pure rubbish. We can't afford it because we don't bother taxing the rich anymore. More people going to university has been a good thing and we need to get back to education being for education's sake rather than being concerned about whether it will be applicable for the world of work. I know I feel much better off having done some higher education, even though it hasn't lead to anything work wise. And yes, as above, I ended up paying for all my tuition too (although I did get a living costs grant). The limit was 15k when I started at RM a few years back.

You see you highlight my point exactly "education for educations sake" - and precisely why would we fund someones desire to learn something which will be of no practical use to the people who are funding it? Education beyond A Level should be self financing for all but the essential disciplines. If you want to learn media studies, pay for it. We have become a nation of acedemia. This country probably has the most educated dole queues in the world.

[dvbuk55]

They should pay it back regardless imo especially if they are attending top uni (9k)

Yes, they should. Again, if we taxed the rich properly then some of those who benefit from HE who get well paying jobs would pay for their tuition many times over and would also pay for people going now. Instead, we have the nerve of MPs who benefited from mostly free higher education, with grants for living costs etc, pulling the rug from under anyone else who wants to do the same.

Well it's a question of cutting your cloth according to your purse. The current crop of MPs probably took their degrees in the 60s and 70s and as we know only too well that was quite a different world to the one we live in now. I would be interested to see how many university places there was in say 1965 to 1975 compared to the places available today and in addition, the courses available.

[Harry_Perkins]

Really, the cost of paying for tuition and living costs etc for 3 years is a drop in the ocean in the grand scheme of things. We're always told we can't afford this and we can't afford that anymore. It is pure rubbish. We can't afford it because we don't bother taxing the rich anymore. More people going to university has been a good thing and we need to get back to education being for education's sake rather than being concerned about whether it will be applicable for the world of work. I know I feel much better off having done some higher education, even though it hasn't lead to anything work wise. And yes, as above, I ended up paying for all my tuition too (although I did get a living costs grant). The limit was 15k when I started at RM a few years back.

You see you highlight my point exactly "education for educations sake" - and precisely why would we fund someones desire to learn something which will be of no practical use to the people who are funding it? Education beyond A Level should be self financing for all but the essential disciplines. If you want to learn media studies, pay for it. We have become a nation of acedemia. This country probably has the most educated dole queues in the world.

I think a more educated population does benefit us all. It is a similar argument with healthcare. We're all better off the more healthy we are and in fact this in turn is also good for capitalism because you have a healthy workforce turning out bigger profits than something like the US system, which actually ends up more costly across the board. I don't think New Labour wanted the extra numbers in HE for the goodness of their own hearts.

It is a fair point about the dole queue. This is why the Tories were mooting in the 80s to introduce an option for a school leaving age of 14. For one, because they didn't feel it worth educating many working class youngsters to the age of 16+ if they were going to be doing McJobs or part of the large permanent reserve army of labour and two, they were concerned about creating expectations that couldn't be met, combined with these people being highly educated. That is now happening, to an extent, and it will be interesting to see where it leads.

[DirtyHarry]

Education is wasted on the British people.

Don't believe me?

Then just observe very carefully, your fellow citizens when you are out and about, tomorrow.

Then, you will know exactly what I mean.

[steven100]

I'm just about to finish my Accounting degree, so do i fall in the layabout category. Oh wait i'm from scotland......free tuition.