24th February 2010 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The BBC has reported that Lord Mandelson has announced that there will be a record number of disappointed 18 year olds this summer, when they don’t achieve a university place. The statement follows the announcement that the cap on university places, imposed last year, will not be lifted this year, despite a record number of university applicants.
The goal is to avoid paying tuition fees for students who ‘should’ not be at university, and encourage those students to take shorter, or part-time, vocational courses. Celebrity Journalism, Drama with Waste Management, and International Football Business Management were three courses highlighted as being pointless by Dr. Richard Pike, the Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He asked why students were being paid for their tuition in these courses, when the UK was desperately short of funding in areas like Alzheimer’s and renewable energy.
However, Lord Mandelson has been criticised for the announcement. Many believe that it goes against the government’s policy of making higher education available to all, and will dash the dreams of students who have been working hard to make it to university. Of course, the most deserving students will still attend university, but those whose skills lie outside of academia are being asked to focus on improving the skills that they will need once they start working, rather than spend three years being tutored in a discipline that they will never use again.