"I rang the Liberal Democrats office yesterday and asked if I could purchase a written copy of their manifesto. 'I'm sorry,' I was told. 'We've sold out.' I said 'I know, but could I get hold of your manifesto please?"
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| Nick Clegg: A sell-out? |
The Liberal Democrats have sold out on so many levels since they joined the coalition but University fees was perhaps their biggest turnaround yet. Pre-election, Clegg and his band of merry men targeted the young people's vote by promising to abolish university tuition fees altogether. Students were leaving university with record levels of debt under fees of £3,100 a year and Clegg wanted to make life easier for those looking to learn. However, upon the dawn of the General Election, he began to creep backwards on his pledge and insisted that to abolish tuition fees altogether would be very difficult, instead pledging to 'significantly lower' the amount. The last thing anyone expected was for him to veto the Tory idea that universities in England will be able to charge tuition fees of up to £9,000 per year from 2012, as the government transfers much of the cost of courses from the state to students. Understandably, the nation's students petitioned against the ruling.
I sympathise with those youngsters who want to better themselves by going to university and originally agreed with their decision to petition - after all, this is allegedly still a nation of free will and speech so let them take to the streets to voice their opposition. However, my sympathy abruptly left me when I saw just how the students chose to protest. Three weeks of violence, vandalism, graffiti and disorderly behaviour followed on the streets of London and other large cities. Rather than the peaceful, diplomatic protests we were expecting from our young minds, we got behaviour that can only be described as feral. These people are meant to be our future and yet rather than tackle government the most effective way, by leaving a lasting impression from a peaceful and carefully orchestrated protest, they quickly turn against the entire British public by defacing such landmarks as Nelson's Column. Following such behaviour as that shown on the video below at 30 Millbank, (home of the Conservative offices), I am now all in favour of doubling the tuition fees again to £18,000 to pay for the repairs and maintenance that our country's streets and buildings need after students' violent reactions.
I never saw the true merit of university for myself. Throughout my educational life, I always wanted to avoid the route to university. I always wanted to be a journalist and didn't want to spend 4-6 years of my life proving I was worthy. No, instead I wanted to get the required qualifications as soon as possible so I could start doing the job that I so wanted. I did an intense 6-month NCTJ fast-track course. It was tough, but I did well and left to go straight into work on a local newspaper. Keeping in touch with my old school and Sixth Form friends who went onto university I only ever heard bad reports. Regrets that they are still studying and accruing more debt whilst I am in work doing the job I always wanted to do and earning. OK, I'm far from rich - in fact, I just about earn enough to scrape by but at least my figures are not in the minus as they could have been if I had gone to university!
On the other hand, they too have their stories. Unfortunately they are not always tales of remarkable academic achievement. Some have left university and nosedived straight into unemployment facing a UK jobs market that doesn't look like picking up any time soon - four years of their life wasted when they could have gone for a job prior to university when jobs were more widely available. Other tales are of mass drinking sessions, parties and general debauchery whilst at university - the kind of behaviour that we saw in the protests; far from the settles, clever academic youth that we expect to lead our country forward.
Of course, for some careers university is a must. It is the only place where you can learn all the necessary skills that you will need in order to succeed in your chosen career - where would potential lawyers be without a university education? Yes, university has a wealth of plus points but it is not the be all and end all of your life. Depending on your chosen future career, university is either invaluable or an unnecessary commodity. Plenty of people have boycotted the institution and gone on to do well enough without it. £9,000 is a tough amount to rake up in fees that aren't always necessary for the career you want to go in and if you are facing financial problems at university, try not wasting what money you do have on wild, overblown parties. The odd one to let your hair down is fine but every month or term is ridiculous! Finally, if you would like to show you displeasure at a government decision, do it peacefully and respectfully. Governments are far more likely to listen to diplomatic protests than they are to respond positively to violence and vandalism.
Think about it....university - and debt - is not the only option..........