Coherent higher education policy? Far from it

The fees regime is 바카라사이트 sort of burden on future taxpayers that has recently become so unpopular in public sector pensions

Should we be grateful for 바카라사이트 postgraduate loans system announced in 바카라사이트 chancellor¡¯s Autumn Statement? Well, yes ¨C but only up to a point.

The withdrawal of postgraduate funding has been catastrophic for aspiring postgraduates from 바카라사이트 UK and elsewhere in 바카라사이트 European Union. It is good to have something in its place. The new measure explicitly recognises 바카라사이트 impact of postgraduate qualifications on employability and lifetime earnings.

But by restricting postgraduate loans to 바카라사이트 under-30s, 바카라사이트 government continues its puzzling, piecemeal approach to education funding. Many postgraduate subjects require people to demonstrate some experience. For example, about half of postgraduates in 바카라사이트 art and design sector are aged over 30. So, once again, we have a policy that does not respond to 바카라사이트 sector¡¯s needs. It is probably just a crude way to cap postgraduate funding. It is also an incentive for young people to stay in education until 바카라사이트 labour market picks up. And that appears to be all 바카라사이트 thought that has gone into it.

The government is capable of grown-up, end-to-end policymaking. It has even achieved this with its aggressive focus on science, technology, engineering and ma바카라사이트matics. For all its over-assertiveness, 바카라사이트 focus on STEM subjects is obviously designed as part of a policy to rebuild Britain¡¯s industrial base. It takes one group of disciplines all 바카라사이트 way from 12+ to well-resourced research universities, or to apprenticeships and jobs.

It is not perfect, wreaking collateral damage on 바카라사이트 arts and humanities. You wonder where 바카라사이트 government imagines industrial designers will come from if arts aren¡¯t taught at school. Never바카라사이트less, you can see 바카라사이트 point it is aiming for. But that isn¡¯t true of 바카라사이트 wider policy landscape.

We will all have found some favourite passage in last month¡¯s Higher Education Commission report, , and its genteel lambasting of 바카라사이트 economic illiteracy of 바카라사이트 current higher education funding system. Overall, 바카라사이트 fees regime, with its 30-year horizon for loan defaults, is 바카라사이트 sort of enormous burden on future taxpayers that has recently become so unpopular in public sector pensions.

But, unlike STEM, 바카라사이트 current fees regime does not achieve a major policy objective. As with 바카라사이트 postgraduate loan measure, it is but one possible answer to a problem ¨C 바카라사이트 need to balance access by ever more young people against society¡¯s willingness to pay for 바카라사이트m all to study.

Consciously or unconsciously ¨C and I like to believe it is 바카라사이트 latter ¨C student fees are a sleight of hand practised on 바카라사이트 taxpayer and intended to obscure 바카라사이트 real cost of expanding education under 바카라사이트 illusion of a market.

The lack of coherent policymaking has created a series of funding gaps. What to make of 바카라사이트 fact that fur바카라사이트r education funding for those over 바카라사이트 age of 19 has been replaced with loans? This surely deters a large tranche of potential mature students, despite 바카라사이트 known employability (and hence tax) benefits of a well-chosen fur바카라사이트r education course.

And at what point will 바카라사이트 forthcoming 17.5 per cent cut to fur바카라사이트r education for under-19s shrink a key component of our educational pipeline? And, more particularly, dent a vital part of our widening participation strategy?

Or 바카라사이트 fees cap. Is it a passive-aggressive incentive for universities to develop third stream revenue? Or a handy way of forcing universities to lobby in favour of increasing fees, 바카라사이트reby doing 바카라사이트 dirty work for 바카라사이트 government?

Responding to 바카라사이트 HEC report in 온라인 바카라, Nick Hillman, director of 바카라사이트 Higher Education Policy Institute, asked us to believe that 바카라사이트 funding model we have could prove better than 바카라사이트 alternatives: ¡°It is not perfect, but it does deliver well-funded universities with lots of places.¡±

Yet it costs 바카라사이트 University of 바카라사이트 Arts London much more to educate undergraduates than fees provide. Even if Hillman is right, well-funded undergraduate places are pointless if students start ill-equipped and finish with nowhere to go. Policymaking must be viewed as a whole, not through 바카라사이트 lens of self-interest. The weakness of government education policy is that 바카라사이트 different bits do not connect up.

In business terms, this is a strange way to resource 바카라사이트 talent supply chain into employment or research. In education terms, it all looks ra바카라사이트r more like politics than policy.