How pleasing to see the HE funding debate garnering so much media coverage today. The ever-present issue in student politics of how university's should be funded is now firmly in the domain of public consciousness but refreshingly not because of a seemingly inevitable call for an increase in fees from Lord Browne. Instead this morning the former student leader in me ate his bran flakes with delight while listening to Vince Cable, Business Secretary, outlining his support for a potential graduate tax and his subsequent request to Lord Browne and his team of tuition fee reviewers to fully explore alternative funding models.
Crucially, Cable explained after a rather lenghty speech, what may seem like a radical departure from the current system is, in practical terms, not wildly different. Students already take a loan from the government and repay it to the tune of 9p in every £1 earned over the initial allowance of £15,000 per annum. Athough not established yet it is hard to see the new repayment system being much different to this one, the key issue being that those students who benefit financially in their work life from obtaining a degree will contribute more to the scheme whereas those who don't experience such monetary benefits will not be required to contribute so highly. Progressive, I like.
What it removes from the process is the decision to take the risk, often as an 18 year old, to burden yourself with tens of thousands of pounds worth of debt to further your education. A huge decision for a young person to make, a dilemma that is undoubtedly making many think twice before embarking upon a HE course. Research would suggest that on average in a lifetime a graduate may only be up to £100,000 better off than a peer who doesn't have a degree. By increasing tuition fees, and in turn increasing student debt, we are only serving to close this gap and remove any financial impetus for people to continue their education. A graduate tax allows us to remove this gamble.
Finance and numeracy aside however we must not forget one key ethos, that education is a right and it not only benefits the individual, it benefits the whole country. Our greatest tool in improving our country is education and in all we do when discussing or reforming our HE system we must ensure that keeping education accessible to as many people as possible is at the heart of our endeavours.
The devil, I have been told by no more than 4 independent sources today, is in the detail. Indeed ahead of the detail of this potential system being produced I have 2 concerns. One is that the increased contribution that may potentially be asked of higher earners will serve to demotivate our top graduates from excelling themselves. Secondly that any graduate tax must not be completely open-ended, it would be beyond the realms of reasonable social responsibility to ask someone to contribute indefinitely and gratuitously to something which does infact have a tangible value attached to it. Both issues will hopefully be addressed as the debate continues and a firmer plan of implementation materialises.
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