Tuition fees are a good thing/

Who are you to judge what degrees are worth completing though? You may find them unnecessary or irrelevant maybe, but that's far from what the people who do these courses feel. Believe it or not people aren't taking degrees because they're fun.

The country can afford to pay for every English, Welsh and Northern Irish students' university fees. I can't see how someone on The Student Room of all places would disagree that education is a right for all, regardless of background or how much your family earns.

I didn't make the thread. I pointed out the under current system the government uses more of his money to fund them, if they were cheaper they'd use less.

A lot of degrees are unlikely to significantly improve salary alone, if you're taking a degree for money reasons and you do something that has little monetary value that's a bad decision. If you're doing a degree to get into a profession (eg teaching) that's great, you need it, the skills are important.

I don't think higher education is a right for all, I don't think university education even teaches you very much.

Relative poverty..?

Not being able to afford a degree is not poverty or even relative poverty.

It's not easy to get out of the cycle of poverty in the UK. Even more so without a degree. It's social exclusion, hence being stuck in this vicious cycle. It's a chronic disadvantage and the government should be doing their all to help as many young people caught up in this as possible.

2,000 bright University candidates lost out on the opportunity to go to top universities born in 1991-1992, missing out in place of less-gifted well off students. Where do you think they will end up? All of that wasted potential could have been put into studying for their degree, ultimately to end up in a high-paying job in the future.

There should be no social class in education whatsoever.

If we can afford to help the refugees then we can afford to send people to university, simple really

I was born in 1992 and I'm at uni....and as I said earlier i'm from a low income family.

Good for you.

2000 other people your age with the potential, if not more, aren't.

How can an educated person say education isnt a right for all. Imagine being uneducated in the present day, you wouldn't have a clue about anything. We live in a time where education is a necessity not a 'learn if you want too'. Look at the Africans you see on adverts 'walking miles everyday to get food/water' if they had any common sense and knowledge they'd move to the source

— let's break this down.

The emboldened point proves that you shouldn't be speaking on behalf of people, as you clearly lack respect for them. Students don't think they're entitled. In 2003, for me to go to University — I would have finished with a £20,000 debt. Now, in 2021 when I finish university — I'll have a debt of ~£48,000. That is the problem. I have no issue paying for my degree. I have issue with the extortionate and unacceptable cost of the degree.

Oh, and it's a languages degree. It might not be STEM and I'm OK with that. I adore languages. It makes me no better or worse than you.

I agree with this to some extent.

We give away £700 million a year. £700 million. Just a fraction of that would mean we could send even more disadvantaged young people to university.

Completely agree.

It infuriates me when I read that people think higher education is a right. I'm from a low income single parent background and I study a difficult degree with a lot of contact hours and assignments, I work part time to supplement the costs of university, even though I get help from bursaries (from my company AND from my university). It's tough. But I STILL don't think it's my right to a degree. That line of thinking is outrageous.

lecturers*

I would be brilliant if we, as a country, could afford for pay for people to go to university and charge no tuition fees.

At the present time, that is unrealistic and a contribution from the student, paid AFTER they graduate is sensible.

But the level of that contribution need serious thinking. It should be limited, it should be lower than it is now and most definitely should not be increase, as the Government appear to be planning. Somewhere up to around £3-4,000 a year seems a sensible compromise on the situation, with a commitment to try and reduce it in future, if the financial situation makes it possible.

I would be brilliant if we, as a country, could afford for pay for people to go to university and charge no tuition fees.

At the present time, that is unrealistic and a contribution from the student, paid AFTER they graduate is sensible.

But the level of that contribution need serious thinking. It should be limited, it should be lower than it is now and most definitely should not be increase, as the Government appear to be planning. Somewhere up to around £3-4,000 a year seems a sensible compromise on the situation, with a commitment to try and reduce it in future, if the financial situation makes it possible.