I am a graduate with approximately £11,000 of student loan debt trailing behind me. This debt is the accumulation of student maintenance loans; they do not include tuition fees, which I did not have to pay.
Despite envying graduate friends who floated along on their parents’ earnings, without having to stress about working through the summer, I accept my debt as a graduate tax for the chance to study at university. I do not believe in the right to a free education – everything has to be funded, whether you do that through tax and the State, or privately through the individual.
The argument, however, is not as simple as to whether an education should be free, or if tuition fees should be introduced. It is more a case of whether the cost of that education has brought value, in terms of input to society, potential earning power and tax contribution, individual growth and career opportunities. If the state pays for the education, then a return on that investment is needed with regard to skills and talent in the public sector, which will support and stimulate a healthy society. If the individual pays for the education, then they want to know that they will be able to pay off their borrowing at the end of the course and that this investment will significantly improve career prospects and earning power. There will always be the reasoning that you can’t put a value on learning, that development of the mind is sufficiently rewarding, but I’m guessing that most graduates will also be concerned with the potential financial benefits of a degree.
Regarding the issue of student debt, I wonder whether we actually deserve it? Most students are aware that they could shop around for good current account and credit card deals, but how many actually do? I was a student for six years and have seen many students burn through their loans, credit balances and overdrafts a month into the semester, simply by frittering their hard-borrowed cash on the SU bar, shopping and club events. Gone are the days when students survived on a 9p can of baked beans; that only happens when all other funds are exhausted and desperation sets in.
Where I could, I bought the resources I needed as I avoided relying on university facilities. This was expensive, but it saved me from working in the library where someone had spilt coke on a machine or stuck a pen in the floppy disk drive, or poured milk over the tables. Food and drink was banned in the library, but it didn’t stop the zombies bringing in refreshments.
Most students rarely shop around for financial products, or organise their own finances, or manage a restricted budget. Many of them won’t vote in the General Election and most aren’t even interested in voting for their Student Council, which campaigns on their behalf. Most aspiring Bachelors are too short-sighted to see the consequences in graduation and graduates are either too busy with managing or avoiding the debt to care about what may happen to future waves of graduates.
Stop moaning about fees! They are almost certainly inevitable! The point is how much is a degree worth? If more young people flood into an increasingly over-crowded system, that saturates the market and reduces the quality of the product. If nobody challenges this, then the issue of student finance and tuition fees is not only a red herring, it’s a debt donkey.
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May 3, 2023
lifestyle