Till Debt Do Us Part

As the new academic year has fallen upon us I see my bank balance shrivel into nothingness as I pay the fees for yet another year of higher education. It seems so futile as I discover my new timetable only requires me to be at university for four hours a week, and I cant help but wonder where exactly is my £3,225 going?To cover ‘teaching costs’ I am reassured. However, almost two years ago, to start and stay in higher education the maximum payment any student would have to make was £3000. But with little or no help from the government, its almost as if students now graduate University with a bill instead of a degree, as they now need bigger loans to pay their increasing tuition fees. I entered university with the hopes that I would leave with better prospects to find a good job and be settled financially. Instead I’m leaving amidst a recession with mounting debt.

The Minister of Higher Education, Bill Rammell, stated in 2007 that fees were to stay put until 2010, there seemed only two options available regarding funding at the time. The first was an increased government grant and the second was increased tuition fees. By experience I can say that we are living with the consequences of the latter option. It is one of the reasons student debt is rising, because with big loans come big debt! Lets just hope with the Conservative Party being a favourite to win the next election that their policies on higher education and the increasing tuition fees ease the financial burden of students for generations to come.

I was always under the impression that the focus of Higher Education is to encourage independent study, but if its independent study they want us to do then shouldn’t we be getting paid for it? Better yet, shouldn’t it be free?