Tuition fees a Ponzi scheme: ex-May aide

A FORMER Downing Street adviser has warned that thousands of students will “see little benefit” from university education, despite shelling out on tuition fees.

Nick Timothy, ex-chief of staff to Theresa May, said it was difficult not to worry about the future of young people getting their A-level results.

In an article for the Daily Telegraph, he also attacked the “university gravy train” under which vice-chancellors are paid up to £451,000 a year.

He further blasted tuition fees as a “pointless Ponzi scheme”. Student fees are running at some £9,000 a year at English universities but have been kept at well under 50% of that figure in Northern Ireland by devolved administrations.

Mr Timothy wrote: “Tuition fees were supposed to make university funding fairer for the taxpayer, but more than three-quarters of graduates will never pay back their debts. The Office for Budget Responsibility calculates that student loans will add 11.1% of GDP to the national debt by the late 2030s.

“We have created an unsustainable and ultimately pointless Ponzi scheme, and young people know it. With average debts of £50,000, graduates in England are the most indebted in the developed world.”

He also stated: “On a recent visit to the barber, the young man who cut my hair told me he had graduated from Southampton Solent University with a degree in football studies.

“He was friendly, articulate and skilled in his profession, but I doubted whether he thought his qualification was worth the debt he will carry as a millstone around his neck for 30 years.

“Today, hundreds of thousands of young people receive their A-level results, and it is difficult not to worry about their future. The fortunate among them — those studying at the best universities and taking the best courses — may go on to prosper.

“But those who choose the wrong institutions and courses will see little benefit, while those who do not go to university — still a majority of young people — will be neglected.”