I think the thing that concerns me about the existence of top up fee is when its going to be paid and by who.
I will be the first to admit that i know very little about the policy the government is proposing but what i have heard on radio 4 had some very apparent contradictions
the discussion i heard first suggested that how much students should pay would be means tested on the basis of what their parents earn then that payment wouldn't be upfront but rather in the form of a graduate tax
this obviously makes no sense as if the fees are to be paid after the fact surely they should be based on what the person earns after leaving university rather than on what their parents earned before they went
Personally i would have little issue with a simple 1p in the £1 tax for university graduates but this isn't what is being portrayed in the media.
More funding of universities is a good thing. Encouraging everyone who both wants and is capable of going to university is also a good thing
charging £3000 a year up front will disproportionately harm the lower middle classes and this is unfair
While recognizing that the Government needs to find more money from somewhere to better fund higher education the current 'top-up' fees which are being described by the media don't seem the best way of doing this. If what the media are describing aren't actually what the government is proposing then maybe i will change my mind. Unfortunately i am too much of an apathetic soul to go and find out if i am being misled or not
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zvi and
no subject
Date: 2003-12-04 07:47 am (UTC)I will be the first to admit that i know very little about the policy the government is proposing but what i have heard on radio 4 had some very apparent contradictions
the discussion i heard first suggested that how much students should pay would be means tested on the basis of what their parents earn then that payment wouldn't be upfront but rather in the form of a graduate tax
this obviously makes no sense as if the fees are to be paid after the fact surely they should be based on what the person earns after leaving university rather than on what their parents earned before they went
Personally i would have little issue with a simple 1p in the £1 tax for university graduates but this isn't what is being portrayed in the media.
More funding of universities is a good thing. Encouraging everyone who both wants and is capable of going to university is also a good thing
charging £3000 a year up front will disproportionately harm the lower middle classes and this is unfair
While recognizing that the Government needs to find more money from somewhere to better fund higher education the current 'top-up' fees which are being described by the media don't seem the best way of doing this. If what the media are describing aren't actually what the government is proposing then maybe i will change my mind. Unfortunately i am too much of an apathetic soul to go and find out if i am being misled or not