YOUR SHOUT

Fiona, after reading your views on university I found myself thinking how right you are. You say you studied for an English degree but still haven’t found out what use it’s been to society, thus you have encouraged your two boys to forget university and get out into the workplace instead.

Sound advice I say, because once you leave school and manage to get a well-paid, secure job, that’s when your education really starts. Stuart Slinn Chesterfield, Derbys Fiona, I rarely agree with your views, but I do believe you were right on university education. Why do we need 50% of school leavers going to university when 50% of jobs do not require a university education? Many end up in jobs they could have trained for and earned a wage for on leaving school.

We’ve ended up with university-educated young people who have no idea of real working life until their mid-20s. It’s time the Government puts more emphasis on job training and apprenticeships. Let’s keep university for the areas that really need it, like medicine, law, education etc. Ian Bentley, via email FP: Well, you may not agree with my views, but I certainly agree with yours on uni, Ian! Fiona, my friend is 87 years old and he reads your page regularly. He has a back problem and wanted to know the name of the medication that you used that cured your back. Nazia, via email FP: There’s no medication to “cure” back problems, Nazia, just strong painkillers to make it bearable. I can, though, highly recommend regular visits to a chiropractor – although it can be costly unless it’s done via the NHS.