Goverment 1 - 0 Students

[Consfearacy]

Is anyone else annoyed at the fact that the government just screwed over the future of this country.
Lets just hope that the Universities will be giving them value for money.

[oolon]

No I am not! This may seem harsh however we cannot afford to support the number of people currently in 3rd level education, so either we have less people go to university or we target the money we can afford to those who need it most. Perhaps if people pay, they will pay more attention at university and take more vocational degrees.

[KidChameleon]

Forgive my ignorance, but why has this become such an enormous issue? Some students will be paying a bit more for their university courses so Hell must be unleashed? My understanding is the cap will be raised meaning some will be paying £2,000 a year while students in Oxford doing a medical degree will be paying the full amount of £9,000. But listening to everyone arguing about this matter, it seems like every student will be paying £9,000 each year.

It doesn't warrant the drastic protests, in my opinion.

[TeePee]

The future of the UK will benefit as a result. There are enough grants and loans available for gifted students to succeed at university and repay their loans. Hopefully this will discourage those who go to university for a good time, get a worthless degree and bring down the standard of education. That or we follow the US path, and give college credit for playing games.

[neonplanet40]

I think its more the principle that the next generation has to pay for the mistakes of the last generation dispite the fact that the last generation that made the mistakes got free education.

[XA04]

Forgive my ignorance, but why has this become such an enormous issue? Some students will be paying a bit more for their university courses so Hell must be unleashed? My understanding is the cap will be raised meaning some will be paying £2,000 a year while students in Oxford doing a medical degree will be paying the full amount of £9,000. But listening to everyone arguing about this matter, it seems like every student will be paying £9,000 each year.

It doesn't warrant the drastic protests, in my opinion.

A lot of universities do charge full wack though, and it's only the limit making them charge more. I see where your coming from but most universities aren't going to charge less when they can charge more are they?

[nibbler]

Don't think personally that oxbridge will be the first to raise fees - if any universities can afford to keep the fees down a bit then it's them.

[neonplanet40]

I cant imagine any unversities keeping their fees down bar the lowest performing ones that have no choice.

[Consfearacy]

I agree with everyone points in this thread and don't get me wrong I fully believe in paying my way, but surely there must have been some other way of juggling the money. If they wanted to save a few quid, they could have cut it from their defense budget or tighten up on immigration control. Its not the students fault the country is in so much debt. Look at the expenses scandal for example, seems like the politicians got away with it outright and as for the student protests and violence, yess that is bang out of order.

[KidChameleon]

Don't think personally that oxbridge will be the first to raise fees - if any universities can afford to keep the fees down a bit then it's them.

What makes you think that? I happen to know that a few Oxford colleges are losing money, digging into their savings and making big spending cuts. They have very high expenses with just a handful of students for each lecturer. Raised fees would be rather helpful.

[Terbinator]

Don't think personally that oxbridge will be the first to raise fees - if any universities can afford to keep the fees down a bit then it's them.

Unless I'm forgetting something, I think it was the RG uni's that were the first rattling the sabre of "we need higher caps to survive otherwise we're going private".

[nibbler]

It just strikes me that if any university could survive for 5 years until the recession clears and funding increases on current fees, then it's the richest.

[usxhe190]

Someone give me a quick summary on what's going on? I am getting old and don't really focus on student issues.

[badass]

I think its more the principle that the next generation has to pay for the mistakes of the last generation dispite the fact that the last generation that made the mistakes got free education.

Free education
Lower taxes
Higher pensions
Higher government spending
etc.

All because they all got born at once so they didn't have to pay as much for the previous generations pensions, healthcare etc and the previous generation to them supported them till they could work.
Now the rest of us pay for their retirement and get screwed.

[kalniel]

Someone give me a quick summary on what's going on? I am getting old and don't really focus on student issues.

We have large debt, and budget deficit. Thus all areas of govt. spending are being cut back, with various consequences. One such consequence is a reduction of funding for universities. Therefore they in turn have to either cut the number of places they offer (drastically), or raise funds from other means. The former might actually have been the tory's preferred action, but faced with a Labour election campaign of increasing places they agreed to also increase places, leaving raising funds as the only other option.

Labour had already introduced tuition fees in a manner which students don't have to pay up front, and in fact they only have to start paying them back once/if they earn above a threshold (15k).

This actually worked quite well.

To increase the funding further, the Tory/Lib-dem plan is to increase the fees, but also increase the threshold earnings above which they have to pay them back. For some reason, Labour have dropped their support for their own idea, and instead want a graduate tax to fund the shortfall.

The kicker is that most of the Lib-dems signed a pledge prior to the election saying they'd oppose tuition fee increases, and in fact several of them were elected in student rich areas on the back of said pledge. And the students are suitably pissed off that they have changed their mind.

That doesn't excuse the anarchists who just jump on any excuse to try and injury the police/property.

[jetfire]

best TV i have watched since last month

now if they all chipped in thay could get one of these for 7k

http://www.milweb.net/classifieds/la...ad=55222&cat=1