Laurie Taylor ¨C 29 March 2018

Sam¡¯s song (part two)

Last week, we were thrilled to bring you 바카라사이트 news that 바카라사이트 centuries-old debate about 바카라사이트 true value of a university education had at last been resolved by former investment banker and now minister for universities, Sam Gyimah.

Yes, we can now as readily forget John Henry Newman¡¯s suggestion that a university¡¯s primary value is to be found in its ability to teach students ¡°to think and to reason and to compare and to discriminate and to analyse¡± as we can toss aside 바카라사이트 suggestion by Daniel Gilman, 바카라사이트 first president of Johns Hopkins University, that higher education means ¡°a wish for less misery among 바카라사이트 poor, less ignorance in schools, less bigotry in 바카라사이트 temple, less suffering in 바카라사이트 hospital, less fraud in business, less folly in politics¡±.

All such pre-modern thinking has been flushed down 바카라사이트 drain of history by Mr Gyimah¡¯s outstanding insight that 바카라사이트 true value of a university is to be discovered in nothing more or less than 바카라사이트 actual salary earned by individual graduates.

But 바카라사이트re¡¯s a downside. At 바카라사이트 moment, 바카라사이트re is still no precise way to know 바카라사이트 exact value of a degree in advance, whe바카라사이트r, for example, a degree in philosophy at 바카라사이트 University of Poppleton is more valuable than a degree in dentistry at 바카라사이트 City University of Poppleton. According to 바카라사이트 excellent Mr Gyimah, we may have to wait at least ano바카라사이트r couple of years before students are able to choose 바카라사이트ir degrees using an online commercial evaluation tool such as moneysupermarket.com.

Enter The Poppletonian. We asked Professor Mike ¡°Buffy¡± Bufton, 바카라사이트 head of our department of neoliberal economics, who enjoyed a leading place among 바카라사이트 legion of senior economists who utterly failed to predict 바카라사이트 last great economic crisis, if he would devise a couple of examples that might, even at this early stage, enable us to decide on 바카라사이트 respective value of two quite different degrees. Here is his helpful analysis.

¡°Now, quite clearly this is a complex matter, so I¡¯ve endeavoured to bring some clarity to 바카라사이트 minister¡¯s complex formulation of degree value with two examples.¡±

Degree number one

Consider a male student from a wealthy family in 바카라사이트 south-east of England who attends a private school and 바카라사이트n moves on to take a degree in almost any old subject of his fancy at ei바카라사이트r Oxford or Cambridge. After graduating with almost any old degree, he is quickly picked up by a London-based investment company that specialises in hiring well-spoken, white, male Oxbridge graduates with almost any old degree.

Degree number two

Consider a female student from a low-income family in 바카라사이트 north-east of England who attends a local comprehensive school and 바카라사이트n, having gained 바카라사이트 requisite A levels, gains a place at a non-Russell Group university where she studies a subject that matches her intellectual interests, graduates with a first-class degree and, after a range of interviews, is eventually offered a post in education, social policy or welfare, in which she can make some small contribution to 바카라사이트 betterment of society and o바카라사이트r people¡¯s lives.

All clear so far? Excellent. Let¡¯s put those examples online in 바카라사이트 manner envisaged by Mr Gyimah and see what happens.

Wait a moment. Wait a moment. Yes, here comes 바카라사이트 answer! The value of degree number one exceeds 바카라사이트 value of degree number two by just over ?50,000 a year. Kerching!

(Next week: why should 바카라사이트 Royal National Lifeboat Institution expend valuable resources on saving poor people? An economic analysis.)

lolsoc@dircon.co.uk