This is possibly the most naive and moronic statement I have seen about graduates, education and debt. The financial burden that a graduate suffers after completing higher education without financial assistance from family or scholarships is totally unfair. Starting out in life with £30K worth of debt around your neck is obsene. How can anyone justify an education system which leaves young people in such a dire financial state to simply become educated? One of the biggest injustices to this country in the last decade (alongside the housing market mania and lax immigration) has been the abolishment of university grants in my opinion. This is the backbone of supporting and creating an educated society, and the core to sustaining a prosperous country. Or maybe I've got it wrong, perhaps the aim is simply to promote the UK as a country where it's fine just to "get by" in a dead-end job, become a "chav", have no aspirations and "doss" so that your sole existence is to spend your low wages on getting drunk every weekend to forget about life and maybe have a few babies, give them a pathetic start in life and leech the system for government benefits. The prospect of coming out after 3,4,5+ years of University with £20K-30K+ debt is enough to put anyone off, so I totally understand why young people may think twice about this route nowadays. As a graduate myself, my views on whether or not it is viable for school-leavers to go to University has changed somewhat, mainly due to the fact that the current situation makes it seem such a financial headache, and with the graduate job market as saturated as it is in many sectors, finding a suitable job after graduating is not easy either! Obviously University isn't right for everyone, and there are alternative routes to creating a decent career. I am simply saying that creating such a barrier to further education is a very bad thing.
By the way I haven't quite finished my rant yet! :angry:
Saying graduates have a huge earning potential doesn't match with your assumption about starting salaries either. If "some graduates are earning 14K for a first job" with the hope of earning £20K after five years, they've clearly wasted their time at University because that is a shockingly low pay rate these days!! Unless you follow up with a decent post-graduate qualification like a Masters or similar industry-specific certificate, you no longer stand out from the crowd. But hey, what's another £20K debt slapped on top for that accomplishment. What's more, In addition, your reasoning that a couple (each with £30K debt) can pay back £60K between them over five years and start on the housing market) is just madness. I take it you are assuming that these graduates live rent free somewhere with no utility bills, cars or any other financial responsibilities. Not everyone can (or wants) to live at home with parents for years after they have lived independently and began their life as an adult at University. Privilege is nothing to do with it either!
You need a reality check!