16th January 2019 9:00
By Blue Tutors
A study on further education has said that too many students in England are being sold a “false promise” when choosing to study a university degree. Reported on the BBC, a think tank has said that many courses don’t lead to sufficient earnings which justify the level of a student loan to pay for tuition fees.
The “Onward” report concedes that there is a value to education for its own sake, and that many students choose to attend university for reasons other than simply the increase to their future earnings. However, it also says that this is not true for many students and they are not aware of the financial commitment they are making.
Solutions proposed include offering tax breaks of up to 50p in the pound for graduates which will halve their repayments, and reducing the number of courses made available by universities when those courses do not offer sufficient value for money. Also, the think tank suggests steering more 18 year olds towards technical education, seen previously as an ‘ugly duckling’ of our system, but which will lead to more long-term financial gain.
The report precedes a thorough government review of post 18 education, and a spokesperson from the department of education commented “Students rightly expect value for money from their degree, which is why the government is conducting a major review of post-18 education and funding - to ensure we have a system that is joined up, accessible to all and provides value for money for both students and taxpayers.”