Student loans and apprenticeships

[Donkmeister]

I had some good news yesterday, my IceSave compensation came through so financially things are looking up. However, what harm does this do the country at large? £4.5Bn is a lot of money that could be put to far better uses. 300,000 people (including myself) would be more than a tad miffed, but is that the fault of the other 60,000,000 people?


It got me to thinking...

I have a student loan from my uni days (1998-2001)... I left uni with approx £11K of "official" student debt (besides the ubiquitous overdraft). Apologies to anyone who has finished more recently (or has offspring) and is probably looking at £25K or more now!

The government is prepared to pay up to £50,000 to anyone who had the misfortune to put their money in a bank that turned out to be dodgy.

But, the government is not prepared to stump up an extra few grand towards a valid education whether its academic or a trade (apprentices or their sponsors have to stump up for their courses and exams).

OK, so we don't need people studying "The Life and Times of David Beckham", nor do we need anyone fluent in Klingon. If people want to waste three years of their life then by all means let them, but there should be absolutely no government subsidy.

However, for valid qualifications, why shouldn't there be a proper grant?

 

[Blasphemous]

Yeah but one man's 'valid' is another man's tripe Donk as you have pointed out with your reference to David Beckham/Klingon, so where do you draw the line? I agree by the way, but I can just see the Student Union whining that all education is valid and they'd have a point!

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

Are you not trying to conflate two separate issues here? The UK Government, as governments in Europe and the US have weighed into the current financial crisis by injecting billions in order to avert a total collapse in the banking system. Time will tell how effectively this has worked.

When you chose to go to college you presumably did so in the full knowledge that you would have to meet the Uni fee, the accomodation and living costs. The former may rankle but was the current government not originally elected with the introduction of uni fees as a key part of its manifesto? These are not payable in Scotland so you might have considered pursuing a course over the border.

 

[Donkmeister]

These are not payable in Scotland so you might have considered pursuing a course over the border.

The rules may have changed, but when I went it was a case of where you originate from. I.e. Scottish students in England didn't pay, English students in Scotland did.

I see the two issues as separate, but to a common end - assuring the future of our nation's economy.

The banking crisis is an immediate concern in which they have taken a short-term view and are pursuing a short-term solution (hoping it will pay off in the long-term).

However education is a longterm view. We need educated people to manage the economy in the future, we need teachers, doctors, builders, plumbers, mechanics etc etc. There is still an element of gamble, people emigrating after they've got their state-funded degree for instance. But, if they scrapped the idea that everyone has to go to uni regardless of desire or need, then they could reduce the number of university places and revert to taking those who best qualify for university. Then fund it regardless of where they live or what their parents earn. Just my view.

Blasphemous - you raise a good point... perhaps they could do an X-factor style TV show where you can vote off useless degrees? Or would we then end up voting off "boring" subjects like Physics and Medicine in exchange for Simoncowellology and Karaoke Studies?

 

[AtoZ]

donk

what about, dont pay if you pass with good grades..

i know everyone would get an A then

might stop the wasters and the beer drinking degree.


leftie teachers
tory style politicians
dosser students.. they all combine to cause uni fees.

btw
i will pay mine for my kids if they do the work, but there again, they would be stacking at tesco's if they dont work at uni