Fewer, better

BBC Question Time this week featuredaheateddebateabout tuition fees and student debt.

No-one questioned the basic premise that, as one panellist put it, without university education “how are we going to raise the level of human capital and the skills gap?” Or any questioning of types of course or job prospects.

At the end a young woman said she didn’t go to university, learned on the job, worked hard, has no debt and makes a good living. There was no time to discuss this.

Student debt is lower in Scotland but the situation is worse because the Scottish government funds many more students compared to 30 years ago, when they paid the full costs of students, almost all of whom got good careers because they got good, reputable, degrees. The solution is a lot fewer courses, aligned to future skill needs, free to the most qualified, motivated students, plough the savings into better primary and secondary education and vocational training, aligned to employer needs - and use what is left to bring down the GERS deficit.

But our university sector, increasingly reliant on foreign student income, would collapse without the basic income from public funds.

The answer is a gradual recalibration towards common sense, fewer students, less student debt, a highly skilled, high-earning and happier workforce.

Which politician is brave enough to say this?