Correct, my youngest is a predicted six A and 6 A*, he is an exeptional pupil who has decided to go and do his A'levels. He told us he doubts very much that he will go on to University as he will spend years of his life paying for it, he is considering the Royal Marines or Merhcant Navy tbh...What a waste of potential, this country is a joke when it come's to education!

not one that I would attribute any success too, maybe you could say that the harder I worked, the luckier I got.

the luckiest thing that happened to me was getting a job that made me travel, but even then, I worked bloody hard for 6 years and lived out of a suitcase.

If you are going to spend a morning arguing your case at least do a bit of research....Maybe most lectures are 15 hours a week, how long do you consider it takes to perform research, and then write a 2500 word essay

Let me rephrase - Not a lot of people get the opportunities to drop out of Uni and get their break in the working world.

Its not real debt!!!!

its an increase in the level of taxation...........

not so much time that you can't also work

I've seen what Students do for most of their week, I've also interviewed the products of our education system recently, a lot of them with a desmond and no brains.

My course was 10 hours a week,

and 2,500 word essay takes about 8 hours - maximum

I had a job at a nightclub working 2-3 nights a week. Still struggled financially. Which is why many students are forced to delve into the world of overdrafts, only to build up their debt in the long run.

But you would know...

how much did you pi%% up against the wall during your degree?

A question...

Is it, or is it not, money that you owe and required to pay back in part or in full? With interest?

at such point as which you can afford to do so

yes, and it's the right way of doing it.

For the record most do perform p/time work.....So by doing a few interviews you conclude a lot of them have no brains

...typical Standee comment

a hell of a lot of the graduates I have interviewed recently have little or no common sense, how many graduates have you interviewed for jobs in the last 2 years?

No where near as much as some, as I chose to not get an overdraft and live life a little more tighter on my wages and small loan.

Common sense and educated are 2 different things...see every-one with a degree knows this





Most young people lack common sense, it comes to [umost[/u of us with age!

I have done a lot of voluntary work with graduates so I have a lot more experience in that area than you could imagine.

That would be a 'yes' then?

Looks like a real debt to me.


I utterly disagree. It penalises the average student, won't save the taxpayer a penny for years (if at all), and doesn't address the needed reforms to Higher Education. It's a completely half-d and unfair policy put together by a committee of morons.

so, you are proof that it can be done. I suspect, unlike many, you went to University to get an education, not to fill a gap between 18/19 and 21/22 where you didn't really know what you wanted to do.

threads like this will run forever and ever because it's just opinion, there isn't any actual answer as to the correct way to fund anything, just best efforts, and people's opinions are coloured by how those efforts affect them.

Oh, BTW - define 'afford'.

a 22 year old SHOULD be able to complete basic literacy and maths questions, for example, calculating VAT on an invoice.

There are some huge issues with Secondary and Higher Education. This method of funding addresses none of them.

and how would you propose to fund it then?

Nowt wrong with a Desmond!

This problem starts far earlier than University. Many of the prospective teachers who apply to the school which I Govern at for teaching jobs are unable to offer basic spelling or grammar competency. They don't get jobs at my school but will somewhere else. They then start to teach children spelling and grammar ........

Yes, but when I went to Leeds Met, I was the last year to get my fees for £2000 per year. I know some of my mates' parents actually paid their fees, but they would no way be able to do so now. It is now over £8000 per year.

but that is the point, they don't pay their fees now, they pay them back in the future, you know, when they have a job and are earning the prescribed amount.