By Brent Johnston
It was recently
announced that Germany has abolished tuition fees which was met with great
applause from the German youth, but in Britain this has caused a lot of
speculation over why we are the standout country for all the wrong reasons when
it comes to education!
Countless times we have
heard politicians say that education is the key to the development of our lives
that when we come out the other end we are equipped for life and have something
to give society, fantastic but why then are the government punishing
prospective students from going to university?
The United Kingdom
broke records when we increased tuition fees to a nauseating £9,000 a year!
Demonstrations erupted all over the country and hundreds of thousands of
students from all parts of Britain walked out of class and onto the streets to
fight for their future. Many of this current government who went to university
paid not one single penny towards their education yet here we are in the 21st
century and they are denying that opportunity for this generation of
prospective students.
This government just
like every government before it was given a budget and with the deficit now on
their hands they had a drastically reduced budget and had to make certain cuts,
but why the students, why the youth, why the workers of tomorrow? I believe
that this is class warfare at its strongest!
I’ll break down the
finances from someone who had to juggle £10 a week for food and transport for
my first year; the lower working class students are given grants which entitle
them to more money than the average maintenance loan of roughly £4,000 -
£5,000, the grant is not repayable but is crucial. Upper middle class families
are the only ones who can afford it out right without a second thought, many of
these students have attended private school (paid for!). Which then leaves the
upper working class and lower middle class who don’t qualify for help
(including myself) we take the loans and the debt that comes with it, which for
many of my friends and students around the UK was just too big a reason not to
go, a great shame! Once again therefore the Conservatives revert back to type
and punish the working class for the mistakes of previous politicians.
With the Germans
announcing their decision, the Scottish who already have free education across
the board and the Welsh who have massively subsidised fees it is about time
that the government started giving us a chance to show what we have to offer.
Apprenticeships are great if you want a vocational/manual job but what about
those who want to become teachers, are they going to loosen the restrictions so
university isn’t the preferred route? There will always be a niche section of
teenagers and adults (mature students) who want to go to university but many
will always be deterred by the frustratingly high fees!
Studying in the UK is
no longer about what university offers the best course but which university
offers the best deal, money, money, money! I guess the Conservatives got the
money conscious youth they wanted! Writing this I had the song ‘Another brick
in the wall’ by Pink Floyd in my head that song sums up the attitude of this
country’s view on education perfectly!
Unless something
changes radically in the next few years, less and less working class students
are going to attend university and with the experiences they have as well as
countless talent, it will be the United Kingdom who suffers!
That is one of the
reasons why I have joined the Respect Party who will destroy tuition fees
forever, they have the foresight to punish those who did wrong and pave the way
for all of our generation to achieve to the highest standard. Maybe you’ll join too?
‘The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the
dissemination of truth’ – John F. Kennedy
Twitter: @Che_Brent
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