NO FEES FOR UNIVERSITY PLEASE

Hmm, here’s a worthy LD press release but it gives me cause for reflection:

‘No fee degrees’ put money before student choice - Williams
'Commenting on Government proposals for ‘no fee degrees’, Liberal Democrat Shadow Universities Secretary, Stephen Williams said:

'“This is just a money saving measure for the Government dressed up as a proposal to help students. By abolishing fees for people who are able to stay at home ministers are letting what people can afford affect what they study. People should be able to study the subject they want where they want regardless of how well off they are. If the Government truly wanted to make sure it is not just the wealthy who are able to get the education they want, it would scrap tuition fees altogether.”'

I went away to university and had a fab time. I spent three years drinking too much, studying too little and generally being a drain on society. However, I think I came away a better person, although my subsequent career has not exactly hit the high spots I had envisaged. I have nevertheless enjoyed myself and I can recognise numerous benefits of my time freezing in the delightful city of Stoke-on-Trent. (Oh yes, I went to a top university!)

My first reading of the government’s announcement that students would not pay fees if they agreed not to claim other costs or take out loans led me to conclude that this was a good idea. Fees are an abomination and the thought of leaving university with upwards of £20,000 of debt brings me out in a cold sweat. Quite frankly, if this had been the situation when I were a lad (whistle Dvorak here) I would not have gone away to college. There is therefore much merit in giving people the opportunity to study for free if they agree to carry all the other costs (if their parents agree to support them).

Now, we are the party of choice and good on us for being so. We are also a party which looks to students for a lot of our support so we must be aware of the concerns of this constituency but we must surely also recognise that it costs a lot to send people away to university every year, it saddles those students with ludicrous debts and the country is also in a bit of a bind financially. There may be merit in people staying local, studying locally and working locally, which might perhaps encourage them to remain where they live and invest in their local economy once they have graduated. The principle of living, studying and working locally is also common to many European countries and while I remain fiercely ‘English’ in my outlook I am also one of those sensible people who recognises that if we don’t learn from our neighbours and friends we are quite simply ignorant.

For these and various other reasons I think the government has actually got a good idea here and we might reflect on that. I applaud the principles behind the approach taken by Stephen Williams on our behalf but I wonder if it is the right comment long term.

And finally an anecdote: My brother studied in London and lived at home. He worked throughout his time at college and he left (I think) with no debts. He now earns a very tidy sum doing what he always wanted to. I went away to university, supported by my wonderful and long-suffering parents to a considerable extent. Regardless of their sacrifice I still left university with debts and I haven’t quite found my niche in life to this day. It’s hideously subjective but it informs my judgement on this issue.