Commenting on the government's proposals for post-18 education
and training, Professor Len Shackleton, Editorial and Research
Fellow at free market think tank the Institute of Economic
Affairs, said:
“Today’s proposals offer little of substance.
"Lowering the salary at which students will start paying back
loans may be justified, but charging interest at RPI rather than
RPI plus 3 per cent and extending the payback period adds to the
complexity of an already confused system.
“Keeping standard fees for all degrees fails to acknowledge that
some degrees cost far more to deliver than others and that
students get varying levels of face-to-face teaching and
value-for-money.
“The crackdown on 'Mickey Mouse' degrees is also problematic.
Capping courses with less than 75 per cent completion rates,
and/or with less than 60 per cent of leavers in graduate jobs
will lead to universities manipulating statistics in order to
avoid their numbers being capped.
“Higher minimum entry standards to university would also likely
conflict with the Office for Students’ demands for universities
to take on more disadvantaged students, and are therefore likely
to be full of exceptions.
“If we want universities to pursue employability, raise academic
standards, and only accept students who have commitment and a
reasonable chance of success, university income should be linked
to the success of their graduates.
"One way to do this is by a risk-sharing arrangement, where
universities receive a share of graduates’ future earnings rather
than a guaranteed payment from the Student Loans company. But no
such radical thinking is on the cards."
