Elephant in the lecture theatre
Nov. 24th, 2010 10:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rich_jackoSo, the students are revolting (*snigger*), and quite rightly too.
But what no one is talking about - not the politicians, not the students, and certainly not the universities - is what seems to me to be the real reason why the fees for a 3-year degree have jumped from nothing to £27,000 in little more than a decade:
There are just too damn many people going to university these days.
Politicians of all parties are fixated on "widening participation", students love the opportunities, and universities love getting bigger and offering more courses to more people. Exhibit A: You only have to look at all the new buildings the University of Sheffield flings up every year to see how relentless the expansion is.
Of course, university is a wonderful opportunity and a great experience. Having more and more people go there is a lovely idea, but it just isn't practical.
Firstly, academia isn't for everyone. Some people's talents would be better focussed elsewhere (apprenticeships, anyone?) and other people simply aren't able to cope with the demands of it.
Secondly, whilst having a well-educated workforce is great, there's simply no need to have half the population be graduates. People will always be needed to work checkouts, answer phones, clean the streets and drive the buses, and you really don't need a degree to do any of those. Exhibit B: Look at the graduate unemployment figures.
Surely it would far better to have a much smaller proportion of teenagers going to university - say about a quarter of them instead than half? That way, there could be sustainable government funding for a smaller university sector, educating the brightest students who will get the most out of university, and who will end up in jobs where they can actually use what they've learned.
That's got to be better than having half a generation being 27 grand in debt before they even start their working lives.
But what no one is talking about - not the politicians, not the students, and certainly not the universities - is what seems to me to be the real reason why the fees for a 3-year degree have jumped from nothing to £27,000 in little more than a decade:
There are just too damn many people going to university these days.
Politicians of all parties are fixated on "widening participation", students love the opportunities, and universities love getting bigger and offering more courses to more people. Exhibit A: You only have to look at all the new buildings the University of Sheffield flings up every year to see how relentless the expansion is.
Of course, university is a wonderful opportunity and a great experience. Having more and more people go there is a lovely idea, but it just isn't practical.
Firstly, academia isn't for everyone. Some people's talents would be better focussed elsewhere (apprenticeships, anyone?) and other people simply aren't able to cope with the demands of it.
Secondly, whilst having a well-educated workforce is great, there's simply no need to have half the population be graduates. People will always be needed to work checkouts, answer phones, clean the streets and drive the buses, and you really don't need a degree to do any of those. Exhibit B: Look at the graduate unemployment figures.
Surely it would far better to have a much smaller proportion of teenagers going to university - say about a quarter of them instead than half? That way, there could be sustainable government funding for a smaller university sector, educating the brightest students who will get the most out of university, and who will end up in jobs where they can actually use what they've learned.
That's got to be better than having half a generation being 27 grand in debt before they even start their working lives.
