War & PoliticsEducation

 

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 From:  william (WILLIAMA)  
 To:  ALL
43128.1 
I was idly looking at this article today. It's not an especially novel piece of writing. I can agree with the general drift of the argument, even though it implies rather more strategy in the Labour Party's thinking; I tend to believe that they are thrashing around reactively trying to find the big idea that will free them with one bound. Anyway, that's not the point. It occurred to me that the higher education system when I went to university in the 1970s wasn't perfect, but it was pretty good.

So how was it possible for kids from across the social spectrum to get to university, without paying fees, and supported by a grant? Why do universities now charge eye-watering fees, but they're on the point of going bust? Why are students leaving with debt that will weigh them down for years? How can successive governments have fucked the system so badly?

He May Be Your Dog But He's Wearing My Collar

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 From:  CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)  
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)     
43128.2 In reply to 43128.1 
I think you answered your own question.

I'm really glad, and grateful for the education I was given. I have some neices and nephews who have gone or are going through assorted USian, Canadian and French universities, and I've never heard any horror stories that compare with how it's being painted. I guess a lot of universities are cash-strapped and are being forced to take a primarily vocational training role vs. educating. Probably some elite schools are exempt. They've become a bit stuffed with foreign kleptobrats (joining the domestic ones), who seem to be the last pool of inexhaustible wealth to be tapped.
“I Won Big in Las Vegas by Sitting Through a Timeshare Presentation”
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 From:  william (WILLIAMA)  
 To:  CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)     
43128.3 In reply to 43128.2 
Quote: 
I'm really glad, and grateful for the education I was given.

Me too. It was literally life-changing. I feel sad that both my kids now work with an extra tax on them. My daughter wouldn't have her job without a degree, but my son doesn't have a similar benefit, just more to pay. 

I am puzzled by the mechanisms at work here. My suspicion is that there have been a succession of governments and like-minded Vice-Chancellors who were determined that universities should be like businesses, because every good neoliberal knows that this is a moral imperative, and can't possibly fail. Well, it certainly enriched some university managers. But like almost all UK institutions that switched from non-profit to profit-driven in the last 50 years or so, it's been disastrous in many ways.

He May Be Your Dog But He's Wearing My Collar

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 From:  william (WILLIAMA)  
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)     
43128.4 In reply to 43128.3 
Did anybody ever watch "A Very Peculiar Practice"? I loved that so much. A quirky satirical comedy set in the medical practice for a university. Packed with comment about the rise of Thatcherism in British universities - but so much more. I paid real spending folding stuff for the DVDs when the usenet files weren't good enough.

He May Be Your Dog But He's Wearing My Collar

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