[boogers]

Why is it wrong she ends up with a "debt" of £69k? It doesn't impact credit scores, she'll never pay it all off and it'll be wiped in 30 years. She'll just pay an effective tax rate of 9% on earnings over £21k. Which seems quite fair, really.

It's marvellously redistributive - people who end up in well paying careers will pay back the full cost of the loan. People who don't, won't.

[Fiverings]

Jesus christ. Reminds me of that March for Leadsom nonsense.

  It's yet another sign of the ludicrous times that a minor character from the Beano with a 1930's mindset and fashion sense to match should be so hyped.

[Yamor]

Why is it wrong she ends up with a "debt" of £69k? It doesn't impact credit scores, she'll never pay it all off and it'll be wiped in 30 years. She'll just pay an effective tax rate of 9% on earnings over £21k. Which seems quite fair, really.

It's marvellously redistributive - people who end up in well paying careers will pay back the full cost of the loan. People who don't, won't.

They should just call it a graduate tax and be done with it.

[blueberryhill]

al this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-22818497 Polytechnics used to offer technical/engineering skills that our economy badly needs. But because we're so snobby about academia, it was decided getting a degree was a superior rout into getting a job. This is plainly rubbish. I am reminded of "The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy" wherein telephone sanitisers and other of similar occupation were sent into space. People with a degree in "TV production" should go to. It's an immensely difficult area to break into and surely the best way is to accept a humble job and work your way up. By all means get yourself a degree in Physics first as something to fall back on, if TV production fails......Here endeth the rant!

[boogers]

They should just call it a graduate tax and be done with it.

The term might make people more understanding of how it works, but an actual tax has a few (potentially) undesirable consequences. For example with the loan system money is paid directly to universities, bypassing the government (so no temptation to skim a bit for other uses).

Ultimately as a society we need to accept that either more people go to university but do so with the aid or a loan/tax, or fewer people go to university, but do so at no cost.

[Yamor]

The term might make people more understanding of how it works, but an actual tax has a few (potentially) undesirable consequences. For example with the loan system money is paid directly to universities, bypassing the government (so no temptation to skim a bit for other uses).

Ultimately as a society we need to accept that either more people go to university but do so with the aid or a loan/tax, or fewer people go to university, but do so at no cost.

I agree it definitely should not become a regular tax, for the reason you give, but they should just call it that, so people understand what it really is.

I saw Martin Lewis suggests calling it a 'graduate contribution' (which he says is what it's called in Australia).


On the other hand, the fact that uptake of further education amongst the disadvantaged is fairly good in England, shows that the people this all affects understand what the system is better then we realise.

[tamila]

We have a neighbour who was insisted her two children went to University as no one in family had ever been. Her family all had good jobs in spite of not going to Uni. Her children did degrees in subjects where there were not many graduates needed. Unfortunately they now work on the counter at Wicked. Most of the children who went to school with them have trained on the job practically all have good jobs. This is such a shame but does seem to be widespread.

[Aileen]

What about the people who studied Sports Journalism and did make it? Failure is part of life.

As somebody who studied journalism, albeit as part of a secretarial course because I did consider becoming one, i soon discovered that it's an incredibly difficult career for anyone to pursue successfully because the competition is so fierce - and if it was bad then I hate to think what it's like now.

We have a neighbour who was insisted her two children went to University as no one in family had ever been. Her family all had good jobs in spite of not going to Uni. Her children did degrees in subjects where there were not many graduates needed. Unfortunately they now work on the counter at Wicked. Most of the children who went to school with them have trained on the job practically all have good jobs. This is such a shame but does seem to be widespread.

It's nothing new either.  For about the last 30 years graduates with good degrees have often been forced to lower their sights considerably just in order to get employment.  A friend who had a PhD ended up working as a library assistant, and I do know of somebody else who also got a PhD and who now works as a driver for Lothian Buses.  My mother wanted me to go to Uni because she'd always wanted to go, but I flatly refused because I really didn't fancy doing another three years of studying and wasn't all that interested in going to Uni anyway.  In fact it was one of the best decisions I've ever made because I still managed to have a very good career.