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The 2015 Popularity Contest (aka UK General Election )
- Thread starter rascal
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I've worked in unis since I was 19 and all I can say is there ain't many working class kids there, in my experience.
Nor should there be, really. I don't really approve of Uni education, it ain't worth it.
Oh and that Brennan is a ginger class traitor.
Nor should there be, really. I don't really approve of Uni education, it ain't worth it.
Oh and that Brennan is a ginger class traitor.
Clint Planet
Utter Cad.
I was lucky - I went when you got a grant. My dad was a milkman and mum worked in an industrial kitchen so I'm pretty sure that, if the current regulations were in place, we'd have sat down at the time and concluded that it was too much of a debt to take on and I've have had to pursue something else. Dunno where I'd be right now without that commitment to universal education.
Frankly, I'm completely aghast that I'm having to even justify my views on this thread. I'd have thought it was obvious - tuition fees discriminate against the poor.
Quite simply because the new system is better for the poorest students and graduates. If you're from a poorer background you can receive government grants to cover tuition fees up to £3,400. Any University which wants to charge £9,000 will also have to offer another bursary to the poorest students.
If for example, your household income is less than £25,000, you will receive £3,400 per year from the government towards your tuition. The University of Liverpool, as an example, will then pay you a further £2,000 towards your tuition fees.
That means the total you owe for tuition will be £3,600 per year.
But that's not all. The new system also means you don't pay back your student loan until you're earning £21,000, rather than the old entry of £15,000. That means not only is there great support for those with the poorest parents, but graduates who don't start out on a great salary upon leaving University will also have an easier time of it.
The new system is more of a graduate tax than a traditional loan, and unless you're from a relatively high income family and then go on to earn an above average salary you'll actually notice very little difference from the current system, and may well be better off.
The only reason kids from poor backgrounds would be put off by the new system is from a lack of information and education on the subject. Anybody who takes ten minutes to look at the facts (not the spin), will see that.
Too many people have degrees, they're incredibly expensive and mostly worthless.
Government has slashed funding for universities, which means they're a) the most expensive they've ever been, b) don't provide as good a service and c) the degrees are at their least prestigious because of the vast number of graduates in recent years.
Shell game, don't fall for it. You'll be stuck paying back your uni for the rest of your miserable life.
The best way to win is to not play.
Government has slashed funding for universities, which means they're a) the most expensive they've ever been, b) don't provide as good a service and c) the degrees are at their least prestigious because of the vast number of graduates in recent years.
Shell game, don't fall for it. You'll be stuck paying back your uni for the rest of your miserable life.
The best way to win is to not play.
Pienaar's gloves
Player Valuation: £35m
This system doesn't really mate. I mean, I'm a nice leftie most of the time, Labour supporter at the forthcoming election, and a student.
HOWEVER, the tuition fee system is mostly well thought through, although I have several criticisms, but first:
- Coming to university has cost me £0 upfront
- The loans and grants I get, coming from a poorer background, are enough to live on
- I do not have to pay anything until I'm earning at the threshold - and on the threshold you're talking about £30 per month, after £21k or whatever it is
- There is just no way I could be priced out, or my family, there is no debt burden unless you are earning decent money.
Other criticisms are that:
- While there will be no trouble repaying it, £9k is not value for money on every course
- The state will ultimately lose money when so few pay it back in its entirety.
SNova
Player Valuation: £15m
I really don't understand why you think tuition fees discriminate against the poor? If anything, people from poorer backgrounds receive more grants.
Good post mate.
This is what it's all about, being able to fairly critique the policies of every party.
The Lib Dems played a blinder in that even though they were forced to go along with raising the fees the system that was eventually introduced is great for the poorest and only costs more if you end up getting a really high paying job.
Pienaar's gloves
Player Valuation: £35m
The LD's took a hard time over this one - although yeah, fair enough, they broke a vow, but it is a fairly good system. Faults need ironing out like.
It's a brilliant system from my point of view, just the one major criticism - my girlfriend struggles because her parents are in the highest income band, however they have seven children, three at university, and cannot just top up her income. The system does not take that into account! She will amass personal debt while she is at university and that is an issue.
Her dad shouldn't have been such a sex god ffs...
Pienaar's gloves
Player Valuation: £35m
Sex god, he is not.
Fundamentalist Christian, he is.
Does do my head in when you see the LD's absolutely battered for this, repeatedly.
Clearly the solution here is to pray for a lottery win like ?
daylightrobber
Player Valuation: £15m
You seem happy to take the route which is impossible for the impoverished. You are leaving many fellow countrymen behind to struggle with the journey whilst the state assist those who were already finding the journey a breeze.
Unfortunately it would appear that you have lost site of where we are all going. You're following the path of the nation making as much money as possible rather the one of humanity.
daylightrobber
Player Valuation: £15m
The answer to this is a few pages back. The number of people going has increased because the universities have made more places available. The number of people applying has decreased markedly.
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