£9000? On yer bike…to Scotland
Education Business, Education Philosophy, HE, In The News, Politics, Russell Group, Tuition Fees Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
The BBC reports that the Coalition of One will now be charging students £9000 tuition fees from 2012.
Why anyone would pay for an English university course now is beyond us. Overcrowded, poorly-staffed and horribly overcharged doesn’t seem a recipe for quality education.
With all this in mind, and for those who haven’t cottoned on yet, YOU CAN STUDY IN SCOTLAND FOR £1,820. YES, THAT’S RIGHT. IT’S TRUE. £1820.
Crazy but true. So, you can go to some of the leading unis in Europe e.g. Edinburgh and pay 1/3 of what you’d pay in England. Let’s not forget either the much reduced living costs of Scottish life. That seems like a no-brainer.
Of course, if you don’t fancy a trip up North why not look into studying in Australia, Canada, American or NZ. European course fees will also begin to look more attractive with such a fees hike and you get to practice another language for you trouble. And you don’t even need to study in that language as in Germany, for example, they have courses taught primarily/only in English.
The Coalition of One who think that English families will simply just cough up for this are forgetting that by marketising university education brings with it stiff competition from within and outside the UK. Competition is a double-edged sword and simply because some unis have a good reputation now doesn’t then mean that will continue. The newer unis may not have this rep but they are more attuned to the current international education market and will be a real force to be reckoned with. So Russell Group unis, beware!
Or maybe the Russell Groupers know that competition has its downside but with Browne-nose and friends telling them that ‘to maintain standards…to retain our status as leading nation…to retain quality staff…research awards….business….blah, blah blah’ they feel they have no choice.
Or maybe they simply don’t care about the increasingly squeezed middle-classes that they hope will foot the bill only about their future income. Because, basically, that’s what this is about. Academics want to hold onto their cushty research posts with their long holidays and short days. But, just like what happened to teachers in the 1980s, that is coming to an end. And they are trying to stop it.
Well, good luck. Welcome to the real world of private education. Non-HE teaching staff can show you the ropes…and it ain’t pretty. Expect low pay, long hours, poor management, political interference, disruptive staff and students, social disrespect and overall regret that you chose this career in the first place…but isn’t classroom time great!
I have to agree that going to an English university feels a bit horrible. I just finished my degree at what is often referred to as the third best university in the country. I have minimal employment prospects (and have had little if any help from the university with job searching), received minimal contact time with my professors, attended overcrowded seminars in buildings that constantly shook and roared with the activities of endless refurbishing, and found that many of my professors were absent for endless study leave when I tried to contact them. Not to mention problems with accommodation, library space and book availability, and the vast bus fare to get on to campus each day.
3,000 p.a. sounded like a lot for this. I’m from a low income household, but the monetary support was not exactly generous. 9,000… is a joke, a really bad joke. Not to mention a broken promise.
If you’re a prospective student, go to Scotland. For one thing, there are a few generally progressive politicians there.