25 November 2010, Oxford, UK
I went to watch the 'student' protests of the proposed increase in university tuition fees yesterday (it's part of my area of academic interest). I noted that while a balaclava-wearing protest leader standing on the steps of the Radcliffe Camera library invited fellow protesters to "eat pizza in the Bodleian" over a megaphone, two of Oxford's homeless were eating left over pizza crusts from the bin on Brasenose Lane, in view of the protest. I wonder what these to people made of a largely upper middle class group of young people (statistically speaking) complaining that they have to pay more for what is an incredibly privileged lifestyle to begin with...? I am sure they would have simply appreciated the pizza.
Those supporting these protests should realize that money to subsidize higher education doesn't automatically come from a handful of bankers' bonuses, or simply raising taxes. It comes from other social programs and health spending. As a former policy advisor in Canada on these issues, I agree what has been proposed for England is short-sighted & not especially well-informed policy. However, I also think the idea that all students deserve a free ride with regard higher education is not only bad policy but incredibly selfish. Very little of the current and proposed student financial assistance plans associated with the fee increases is tied to means-testing (i.e. measuring the actual financial need of the student).
Those supporting these protests should realize that money to subsidize higher education doesn't automatically come from a handful of bankers' bonuses, or simply raising taxes. It comes from other social programs and health spending. As a former policy advisor in Canada on these issues, I agree what has been proposed for England is short-sighted & not especially well-informed policy. However, I also think the idea that all students deserve a free ride with regard higher education is not only bad policy but incredibly selfish. Very little of the current and proposed student financial assistance plans associated with the fee increases is tied to means-testing (i.e. measuring the actual financial need of the student).
Arguably it would make much more sense for English universities to charge up-front fees (rather than the purely income contingent loan repayment scheme that is in place currently) and for those in need of grants and loans to receive them on a means-tested basis than having a universal program which allows even the most wealthy to receive low interest loans subsidized by the public for the duration of a students' studies? One supposed that the architects of the proposed policy spent a lot of time looking at the Australian Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) circa 1990s, failing to notice how that system is now imploding under the weight of poor, politically-motivated tinkering. One further assumes that little if any consideration was given to the imperfect but largely successful Canadian approaches to the same questions.
Hopefully, for the sake of these Oxford students who need to access their library, that it reopens soon...
thanks for the insight. my initial impressions are now supported by someone who has actual weighted opinions on the issue. On one hand, I feel like education should be as equitable as possible, but I agree that kids who can afford to pay should pay, and statistically speaking, you're right; most kids in higher education can pay some of their way through. Of course there's the catch, that they are in higher education in part because they can pay... but I also feel like (and this is also supported with research in slightly different areas of education) that having to pay something, a substantial portion of your earnings but not so much to make you destitute, helps the success of the students themselves, because they have a real investment in their time in school. I know way too many people who basically got a free ride in college and grad school, and they didn't make much of the experience I think largely to do with that fact; there was no sacrifice and it was an easy option. For the wealthy, this will always be a problem, so I don't know to what extent this is an issue for the middle class who have only recently been able to partake. I feel like for some degrees that are in dire need, like teaching, nursing etc, there should be extra incentives, and back in the U.S. there were many, so there was little issue there. But for a lot of degrees (post grad I mean) I also think that you need to have the kind of passion and responsibility that you are willing to make the sacrifice. It doesn't have to be poverty-inducing, but I also dont think these extra degrees should necessarily be heavily subsidized by taxpayers for anyone but the very poorest students who truly don't have familial support. Like you said, fee increased can be done in ways that are more or less responsible, and on that note I have little to offer because I've never studied it, but on the side of the students, as a very poor student who has nothing but her own ambition and good credit to pay for education, I can say this pushes me to do well, to choose practical and useful degrees and subjects, and to appreciate my education. And I pay international fees.
ReplyDeleteUPDATE: The Rad Cam protesters were "forcibly removed" at 16:20 today according to the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11839216
ReplyDeleteI went to watch the 'student' protests of the proposed increase in university tuition fees yesterday (it's part of my area of academic interest). I noted that while a balaclava-wearing protest leader standing on the steps of the Radcliffe Camera library invited fellow protesters to "eat pizza in the Bodleian" over a megaphone, two of Oxford's homeless were eating left over pizza crusts from the bin on Brasenose Lane, in view of the protest. I wonder what these to people made of a largely upper middle class group of young people (statistically speaking) complaining that they have to pay more for what is an incredibly privileged lifestyle to begin with...? I am sure they would have simply appreciated the pizza.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.funnybeep.com