The City of London is snarled up more than usual. Two police helicopters are in the air. Newspapers are reporting people camped out on Trafalgar Square. What is the cause of all this? The protest by students about the proposed raise in fees.
This begs the question why? Basic education is a right. Tertiary education on the other hand, well that could be argued to be a privilege. It certainly isn't a right of passage as many think. Attempts by previous governments to shoehorn as many people through university (thus creating ghastly polyversities churning out people with meaningless degrees) serves only to decrease the value of a degree and shift the emphasis to post-graduate qualifications. Despite this, a good degree in a proper subject from a decent university is likely to give an individual a significant advantage in their careers.
Why, therefore should it not come at a premium? Why, when the main benefit is to an individual, should the individual not pay for it. Of course there will be those less able to afford the fees. For them, why not increase student loans commensurate to the fee increase? Or, even better, encourage companies to offer a degree of sponsorship to promising individuals for a period of service afterwards. Some already to this but why not make the practice more widespread. Either way, in these tough financial times, we cannot and should not expect the state to pick up the bill for anything other than the essentials.
As an aside, is it me or are most of the comments coming from people studying non-subjects and questionable institutions?
Before I sound too down on students I should point out that there are others out in force today. The students of Cambridge are on the streets of London selling poppies. Last weekend it was Oxford and the day before Newcastle. Others have been out too. Good for them. I applaud the public-spirited, socially responsible actions of these stuudents and hope they are not tarred with the same brush in the ensuing news coverage.
JR
No comments:
Post a Comment