Another Broken Promise

[gramps85]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/31496570/keir-starmer-hike-university-tuition-fees/

After for many repeatedly vowing to abolish University Fees he has now increased the cost of studying.

How many more promises is this capable of breaking?

[New Judge]

"My eldest great granddaughter has aspirations of becoming a vet and needs to go university to enable her to qualify. So she has to get the necessary degree in order to be able to practice her chosen profession."

Excellent, gramps. She is one of the (approximately) 10% of young people who need to go to University to pursue her chosen career.

I hope you understand my point. Mr Blair's stated aim was to get 50% of young people to attend University. I don't believe that was achieved and I think the current figure is about 40% (although there are wide variations regionally from that figure).

Blair never actually stated why the country should have that aim, bearing in mind that only about 10% of jobs actually require a degree. It was obviously part of his ridiculous "education, education, education" mantra.

But it is clearly an aim that the country cannot afford to achieve even if it wanted to and I'm rather with Tora - people such as your great-granddaughter who need a degree should be able to participate in one so long as they have the required qualifications to begin with. Those who don't (i.e. the majority of those who attend universities) should not.

There are far too many universities in the UK, many of them not worthy of the name but which achieved that status, under the Blair regime,  having formerly been polytechnic colleges.

[Peter Pedant]

the long answer above applies only to 'vocational degrees' - law medicine, vet,  theology

universities have other uses - I dont regard sociology as a useless degree even if it is hard to get a  job after it

[bednobs]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65454944.amp

[gramps85]

bednobs 14.57.  Thank you for providing evidence that he was thinking of ditching his pledge.  In that case why didn't he include his intention of increasing university costs in his manifesto, and why didn't the Chancellor include this in her budget statement?  Instead it had to be sneaked in.

[New Judge]

"....universities have other uses"

Lots of things have other uses, Peter. That's no reason to expect the taxpayer to pay for them.

[bednobs]

Hardly sneaked gramps, it's been all over the news