Contrary to what the NUS thinks, the CBI’s proposal that students pay more for their university educations is a perfectly reasonable suggestion. One of the problems with the funding of higher education in this country is the long-term incompatibility of our funding system with the governments wish to see more people enter higher education. If the government funds universities — and with the solitary exception of the University of Buckingham, there are no private universities in Britain — as well as student loans, then it follows that funding will have to be rationed. Twenty-plus years ago this was achieved by limiting access, as only a small proportion of school leavers went onto higher education. But as a university degree is now seen as a neccesity for most teens, pressure is placed on a funding system based on more elitist assumptions.
The higher education minister is again reiterating the government’s aspiration for fifty percent of young people to go to university, and none of the other major parties are seeking a serious reduction in these numbers. Indeed, some — such as the Lib Dems — are keen to court the youth vote, with Charles Kennedy declaring the abolition of tuition fees a principle that underpins “a Liberal Democrat society.” Well if that’s the case, where is the money to cater for all these students going to come from?
None of our main parties seem prepared to examine the flip-side of the coin: that capping the amounts universities can charge whilst increasing numbers in attendance harms the quality of university education. Rising fees are inevitable, so students and parents had better be prepared.
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