Learning earnings

Rita opens the letter with trepidationA feeling of fear or anxiety about something that may happen.. Here it is: the latest bill for the three years she spent studying golf management at university. How much does she still owe for her student loan? She can hardly bear to look - but there it is: £24,561.83. Will she ever be able to pay it back from her job at a call centre?

In an article for The Daily Telegraph on Monday, Rishi Sunak argued that there are too many young people in Rita's position. They are being "sold a false dream of going to university only to find they're enrolled on low-quality courses that don't offer the skills they need to get a decent job".

His answer is to take a stricter view of universities. For the first time, an independent regulatorA person or group that supervises an activity or industry. will look at the future salaries of students on each course.

If a high proportion do not progress to a professional job or further education, the number allowed to take the course will be reduced. Last year Sunak promised to phase out degrees that did not improve students' "earning potential".

But in another Daily Telegraph article, Suzanne Moore points out that most people do not get jobs related to their studies. "We do not know what skills will be needed in the next few years," she argues. "The thrill of learning lasts a lifetime and there is no price that can be put on that... There is such a thing as society, and the more educated, the better."

Moore believes that Sunak's policy will make universities reluctant to accept students who are not aiming for highly paid careers - and that people from working-class backgrounds will suffer most. 

Student loans were introduced in the UK by Tony BlairTony Blair was the leader of the Labour party. He was British prime minister from 1997 to 2007. 's Labour government in 1998. Before that, tuition fees were free and students received a means-tested living allowance. By 2018 the average graduate owed £36,000.¹

Sunak argues that university should not be seen as the be-all and end-all. Instead, more people should be encouraged to seek vocationalWhen a course or training scheme provides you with the skills you will need for a certain job. qualifications.

David Hughes, head of the Association of Colleges, agrees: "A lot of young people don't want to spend three years away from home getting into enormous debt. We want brilliant options for degree apprenticeships, technical training, and more employers need to offer this."

Is going to university really worth it?

Yes: The purpose of university is not to set you on a narrow path to getting a job - it is to broaden your mind through study and meeting a wide range of intelligent people. That is of inestimable value.

No: It costs a huge amount of money which most people will spend decades of their lives repaying. Many professions do not require an academic background and are best learnt on the job.

Or... The people who get the most out of university are those who wait until several years after they have left school. By then they have a far better idea of what they want from life and their studies.