Arguments For And Against The Proposed Changes In University Fees
It looks as though the way university education in the UK is funded is set to change
after the recommendations of John Browne, who has conducted a report into the subject. Currently tuition fees are capped at 3,290 per year but Browne has suggested lifting this cap altogether, meaning unlimited fees for students of the future. If this does go ahead it is expected that the average university will change around 7,000 a year, with some charging up to 15,000 or 20,000.
The current financial crises and nation debt means the government is looking for way of saving money. Cutting spending on higher education is one way of doing this, and they have announced universities will face a 4.2 billion cut.
Opinions are divided over whether the proposed changes to higher education funding are fair or not. Below are some of the points that have been debated on both sides of the argument.
ARGUMENTS FOR THE CHANGES
Students are the ones who will ultimately benefit from their education so they should be the ones who pay for it. It is not fair that hard working people, some of who are on relatively low wages themselves, should pay for others to go to university.
Students wont pay until they are in employment post-university and will pay based on how much they are earning. They will not pay a penny until they earn 21,000 (currently 15,000), paying an increasing amount as their salary increases. This means that they will only pay if they can afford to. As their education is the reason they may be earning this amount, it is fair that they should pay at this point.
These are tough times and there is no choice. In ideal times it would be great if university education was free, but that is just not possible. The state simply cant afford to pay for this and is unfair for taxes to rise.
If universities can charge whatever they like then the quality of education will improve. Some universities are currently under funded and if there are no caps on fees they will be able to charge more, therefore paying for increasing quality.
Too many people go to university at the moment, including many who would be able to achieve their career goals without going to university. Higher prices will mean that only those who really want to go to university and who feel that it will help them achieve what they want will go. This will encourage alternatives such as apprenticeships.
ARGUMENT AGAINST THE CHANGES
It is simply right that education should be free, meaning tuition fees should actually be abolished altogether. It is a human right for everyone to be able to be educated to as higher standard as possible.
Students already come out of university with enough debt. This is a major worry for many students and their parents and if fees go up this problem will increase further. It is not right that those who go into higher education should have this hanging over them for the rest of their lives.
It is not right if some universities can charge more than others and this could cause a number of problems. Some student will be discouraged from choosing their first choice university and course simple to save money. This means some wont be taking full advantage of their talent.
Some will avoid university altogether because they dont feel it is worth the cost. Will they earn that much more anyway? You could have a situation where two colleagues are doing the same job with the same salary, one with a university education and one without. One would not be paying student debt while the other would, despite not being on a higher salary as a result.
Andrew Marshall (c)
by: expo09
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