Free university for all is an impossible ideal

SIR – Frank Tomlin (Letters, July 9) writes that he graduated from university in the Fifties, having been supported by the state with both fees and subsistence, and advocates a similar system for current students.

My wife and I also experienced such support in the Fifties (Kings College Newcastle, University of Durham) but we recall that at the time less than

5 per cent of our age group attended university. The current figure is now more like 45 per cent – a completely different economic challenge for the hard-pressed taxpayer. Emeritus Prof Michael Henderson

Manchester

SIR – My grandson has just graduated. His view is that his student loan is a good deal. Young people who choose a different path should not have to pay extra tax so that others can have a free university education. He feels the terms are very fair and the interest very low. Margaret Worrall

Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire SIR – Student loans are incomecontingent, and are better thought of as a tax on high-earning graduates that only partially reflects the true cost of a degree.

If this concept is enough to put someone off going to university, then frankly they have failed the entrance test. Kevin Prescott

Littlehampton, West Sussex

SIR – Mr Tomlin doesn’t appear to appreciate that many people have to undergo training for work at their own expense.

Airline pilots probably pay the most to acquire their skills, without help from the state except when they are ex-military. Many tradesman face paying for further training, even though they are likely to earn less than university graduates.

I doubt that the state has the means to pay for all training, so it is only fair that undergraduates pay their share. Dudley Newiss

Lytham St Annes, Lancashire