University fees a ‘Ponzi scheme’
‘Gravy train’ is failing students, says May’s former chief of staff as teenagers prepare for A-level results
UNIVERSITY tuition fees are a “pointless Ponzi scheme” that are “blighting young people’s futures” and must be radically reformed, Theresa May’s former chief of staff says today. Nick Timothy writes in The Daily Telegraph that the “university gravy train”, under which vice-chancellors are paid up to £451,000 a year, must come to an end as he warns that “tinkering” with the system will not do.
More than 200,000 students receive their results today – the first to have done their A-levels since Michael Gove, the former education secretary, brought in tougher tests in a bid to raise standards.
However, results are now expected to be similar to last year after grade boundaries were lowered amid concerns that pupils could miss out on university places.
Mr Timothy, seen as the driving force behind Mrs May’s grammar schools policy, says that the university system has become “unsustainable and ultimately pointless”.
He warns that successive governments have operated on the “mistaken assumption” that more people going to university will lead to economic growth.
In fact, he says, there has been no improvement in productivity while many graduates earn no more than if they had not gone to university.
He says: “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.”
He warns that some degrees offer students “no return on investment” as they end up going into non-graduate jobs. He says: “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. Even if they do not pay off their full debts, graduates face dramatic increases in marginal tax rates as their earnings increase.”
He suggests that students should
instead be given a “single financial entitlement” which they can spend on technical courses as well as universities.
The financial entitlement would fuel a growth in technical education and force universities to “compete on price”, instead of simply charging the maximum £9,000 a year.
He says: “Rather than forcing half of the population into expensive undergraduate courses, young people could choose the kind of study that suits them. Students would have an incentive to shop around for the best-value courses.”
He says that he expects a backlash from universities to his proposals, but warns: “Universities might be independent organisations, but many are charities that have lost sight of their charitable purpose.”
The revamped A-level courses – which were designed by Mr Gove as part of a drive to raise standards – prompted concern that the brightest students would miss out on top grades since they are sitting harder exams.
Coursework has been scaled back and modules have been axed, meaning that students sit all their exams at the end of the two-year course. The syllabuses for A-levels have also been re-vamped, in an attempt to make them more rigorous, with changes including more unseen texts in English and more mathematical elements in science exams.
But the exam regulator Ofqual sought to allay any concern that this year’s graduates would be at a disadvantage.
Sally Collier, Ofqual’s chief regulator, issued a statement last night insisting that examiners would “ensure fairness” in their grades.
Nick Gibb, the Schools Minister, told The Daily Telegraph: “Our objective is to make sure that, year on year, no student is disadvantaged by reforms to the system. We have to make sure that, year on year, we don’t have grade inflation and we don’t disadvantage students when they introduce reforms.”