Today I got a letter from my old university asking me to commit to a monthly donation toward bursaries and scholarships for current and future students. Money raised from the campaign will be set aside for those students "who are amongst the brightest and the best but may be deterred (from going to university) by the prospect of high student debt."
The letter itself wasn't a complete surprise; I'd already received a 'phone call from a student on behalf of the university in question a few days ago. The caller also asked whether I'd be interested in making a regular donation, and the campaign itself merely marks the latest stage in a fundraising drive that I helped contribute towards in a small way during my final year in Leicester.
I have some sympathy with the request; from a financial point of view I found university life extremely difficult and throughout both undergraduate and postgraduate study I've had to combine studies with paid work. Needless to say I also graduated with a mountain of debt which burdens me to this very day.
And according to some recent studies student debt at the point of graduation has been steadily increasing in recent years even after adjustment for inflation. There are also strong regional variations within the UK, with students in England - and London in particular - expecting to be in debt by around £5,000 on average for each year of study.
The problem, it seems, is a simple one; students numbers, both in real terms and as a percentage of the population, have long been on the rise. Money sourced purely from government funds - and ultimately the taxpayer - has been stretched further and further and as a result loans and grants are near exhaustion. At some point self-financing has to be considered as an option to keep such numbers in full-time education and - for the main part - out of work, even though this then creates the debt that my former university are worried might prevent some students from applying in the first place. And they almost certainly have a point; for those from low-income backgrounds financing a life of study is an extremely daunting proposal. It's an extremely difficult juggling act.
I've also long felt uncomfortable with anecdotal suggestions that attempting to cultivate in all young people a genuine aspiration to continue their studies into further education is somehow a bad thing. Arguing that 'too many students' is a strain economically is a valid - if somewhat cold and utilitarian - argument. Demanding that restraints be placed on those who are ill-placed to afford to go, however, is thinly-veiled snobbery.
I do have one gripe with my alma mater's request, however; given that varying estimations for the paying off of all student debt frequently surpass a decade it seems a little unfair to contact those who are almost certainly still paying for their stint at university and ask for money for those who are about to do the same. Just give me another decade or so and I'll think about it...
2 comments:
I didn't finish paying off my university education until I was 53 although I didn't start until late and had to combine study with working.
Personally I don't feel I was burdened but privileged to have the education. Many of my generation never had the opportunity and their circumstances in later life didn't allow for it.
I was lucky because I had a low interest loan over 25 years but that wouldn't happen today.
I think that the current numbers of people applying for university in spite of the debt that they’ll get themselves into does show that the experience is still seen as worthwhile. I’m sure both of us found our experience of higher education both valuable and fun.
I also think that anyone should be able to go to university regardless of income. It’s just paying for it – whether by public purse or privately – which is the catch-22 facing any prospective government.
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