Is university education a right or a privilege?

Original post by fazhiya

University education should be an essential right.

No point in sending half wits to university is there ? Many graduates are scarcely literate already.

Reply 8

fazhiya

Original post by Old_Simon

No point in sending half wits to university is there ? Many graduates are scarcely literate already.

What I mean to say is: people who cannot afford university or cannot attend university due to any societal issues should have the right to go to university. However, for those who are not interested can choose whether or not they want to study at university or not, but everyone should have the right as long as they are going in with the right attitude.
If you tell a baby it is dumb its whole life, then it will end up thinking its dumb and will not try to be better than what others define it to be, whereas if you give people the chance then we could potentially have the next Einstein and other famous people who make important and significant discoveries.

Reply 9

Original post by fazhiya

What I mean to say is: people who cannot afford university or cannot attend university due to any societal issues should have the right to go to university. However, for those who are not interested can choose whether or not they want to study at university or not, but everyone should have the right as long as they are going in with the right attitude.
If you tell a baby it is dumb its whole life, then it will end up thinking its dumb and will not try to be better than what others define it to be, whereas if you give people the chance then we could potentially have the next Einstein and other famous people who make important and significant discoveries.

I think it is generally clear if a school has encountered the next Einstein by the time the child is about five and a half. There is no need to send them to university on the off chance they might discover a fourth dimension or something.

Reply 10

Student 1

A privilege for those who've worked hard and truly hold a passion for the subject they wish to study further. Definitely not a right. 'Rights' are everywhere nowadays

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Reply 11

Rakas21

University education is not a right, a significant proportion of the population simply cannot succeed at it.

While being a privilege though i do think it's right that government removes any income disparity via tuition and maintenance loans.

Reply 12

Jammy Duel

I think it should be a privilege, if it were a right then a huge amount of the population would go to university, get a degree, and never need it for a start. Those people who never need it are then spending 3 years at university instead of working and being productive.
You also get a large portion of those going that get a crap degree from a crap "university" that doesn't really count for anything because it still places them at the bottom of the pile.
Related to the above statements there is then a funding issue. For it to be government subsidised a large increase in revenue, most probably in the form of higher taxes is required, and student loans would just be foolish under current systems since a lot of those graduating, especially those referred to in the first section who don't need the degree, will be on such low income that they don't pay a penny back, or very little back, which isn't financially viable for those giving the loans.

Reply 13

Can we put the question a different way? Is it right that the taxpayer should pay to send a lot of ill equipped people to do useless degrees at third rate institutions who then have no hope of re-paying their "loans" ? Remember as graduates on low salaries those same graduates are going to be paying excess taxes for the others who follow. It is not "free" in any sense. Half the reason for the expansion in undergraduate numbers is to disguise the shocking employment situation for young people.

Reply 14

Rakas21

Original post by Old_Simon

Can we put the question a different way? Is it right that the taxpayer should pay to send a lot of ill equipped people to do useless degrees at third rate institutions who then have no hope of re-paying their "loans" ? Remember as graduates on low salaries those same graduates are going to be paying excess taxes for the others who follow. It is not "free" in any sense. Half the reason for the expansion in undergraduate numbers is to disguise the shocking employment situation for young people.

The employment situation pre-crisis was really not bad. Around 700,000 job vacancies approximately 2 people looking at each job vacancy. Further, youth unemployment was highest in 1981 when state industries were closing and decline over the next 20 years before the big push for most graduates.

Your comments are not historically applicable, Blair simply believed in education (and I have some sympathy with him).

Reply 15

Original post by Rakas21

The employment situation pre-crisis was really not bad. Around 700,000 job vacancies approximately 2 people looking at each job vacancy. Further, youth unemployment was highest in 1981 when state industries were closing and decline over the next 20 years before the big push for most graduates.

Your comments are not historically applicable, Blair simply believed in education (and I have some sympathy with him).

Unemployment is only part of the full employment situation. There are huge numbers of menial poorly paid jobs, sometimes involving shifts, which many graduates would certainly imagine they might avoid. Sadly many are unable to. Education for its own sake although noble does not make sense when the UK is deskilling as much as possible to reduce labour costs.

Reply 16

Rakas21