Tuition Fees Should Be Increased

Is the government really that desperate for funds to help restructure its economy that it is willing to practically steal from students? Desperate times call for desperate measures, but depriving students of all people of a significant amount of money is wrong and most definitely not the best solution to an economic recovery. A few million pounds increase in fees given to the government will not make a substantial difference to the situation. There are numerous other, more effective and more moral ways to get money and to fight the recession.

Whilst it cannot be disputed that most universities guarantee an outstanding education, it would definitely not be worth £20,000 per year! That amount of money could considerably add to an “average” salary making it worth the same as a “high” salary but without obtaining a degree and wasting 3/4 years of your life!

Furthermore, although the quality of education may be worth paying for, the quantity of education does not justify such an increase. Many students are given less than 15 hours of lectures per week so should they really be paying such a huge amount for an education that they rarely receive?

Competition should be encouraged so as to allow employers to gain the best possible post-graduate students for the job. What’s more, with all these “anti-competitive issues” arising within the UK at the minute (for instance, the issue with BAA owning all three London airports as well as the frowned upon possible mergers between TV channels) could this not be seen as being anti-competitive? It is not student fees which need to be raised but rather the universities standards. This in the end will provide the people with the best qualifications the best jobs.

How much a degree is worth is proportional to how prestigious the institution is and how well-known the course is. A rise in tuition fees will only lead to the poor being forfeited the chance to enrol in a degree course and hence, resulting in only the better off people obtaining degrees. A degree, in this sense, has lost its purpose and worth as it is just a luxury good that can only be afforded by the affluent. One might argue that financial aid is available for the poor who perform well academically, but then again, with the rising costs of tuition fees, will there be more grants and scholarships handed out? I highly doubt so.

By increasing the tuition fees the government will not only discourage the less well-off from attending higher education but it will create a wider gap between the rich and poor.

People who were in disadvantaged backgrounds to begin with are less likely to be able to afford to go to university if an increase in tuition fees was enforced. This would then result in them being unable to obtain decent jobs with high salaries, leading to a resentful feeling and tension amongst the poorer of the nation and towards the rich who had never had any problem attending university and getting a well-paid career.

Yes but its so much easier to pay off those debts if Daddy is a millionaire and you have a trust fund. As well although it only gets paid off depending on your wage it still has to be fully paid back so it becomes how long you are in debt for.

A further rise in tuition fees could easily be seen as an indirect way of discriminating against the poorer people of the country. If the government was to increase tuition fees it would have the obvious effect of deterring less well-off people from attending higher education. This could in fact have been the government’s aim from the outset and consequently, it constitutes discrimination against the poor and in favour of the richer people of the nation who can afford the newly increased rates.

Counter argument:
Discrimination is not only one rule for one but another for the rest it also includes diverse access for example if I was to say one of you can go to university whoever reaches the top of the stairs first is in and one of the competitors is in a wheel chair that is obvious discrimination. < wierd example but first thing I thought of. The Debts could be crippling to a working class family but not to a wealthy family as they have extra money to help out their child.

If the government were to increase tuition fees they may well find that they have left themselves in a bit of a hole. Considering the government needs bright and intellectual people to fill the gaps within the various systems of the country (e.g. health system, legal system, administrative system, banking system etc…) by discouraging people to get a higher education it will find itself left with few people to fill in these gaps. What’s more, even if the government did have people to take up these positions, it is likely that they would not be the best people for the job. If more people were able to get a higher education, it would leave the government with more choice and more intellectual candidates to choose from.

Aside from the government, discouraging people to get a higher education through increasing tuition fees would have an effect on the whole country as people will not be as trained or qualified to do their jobs as they would have been if they had obtained a degree.

It was only 3 years ago that tuition fees were increased from a mere £1,000 to a substantial £3,000. In fact, before 1997 there were no such things as tuition fees for universities – higher education was free!

Whilst the introduction of tuition fees can be seen as a good thing since it prevented overcrowding universities, a rise in tuition fees by £2,000 was a bit over the top. And now, to want to increase tuitions fees by more thousands of pounds is absurd, not to mention unfair! Students have had their fair share of increases in the last few years, now it’s someone else’s turn!

Students, along with everyone else, are suffering because of the recession meaning it is a lot more difficult for them to find jobs and careers and to live daily life without struggling financially. The last thing they need is to find out they will have to start paying more for their studies too, at a time when every penny counts. The recession is torturing the students enough without this added dilemma.