Education.

The Education Gravy Train

This is a follow on from a post three years ago “Education education education” Not much has changed.

This caught my eye. David Willets, a former Tory MP and a current Tory Lord says that we need to increase the number of places at University to avoid our children getting low paid jobs.

Now, is he an idiot?  

Does he think that going to University stops anyone from getting low paid job? If 50% of the population go to Uni, but 75% of the population are required for low paid jobs (someone has to do them) then half of the people in low paid jobs will simply be degree qualified, but with a huge debt.  So is he an idiot?

No, he’s not an idiot, but he may have a little self interest?

He is currently:-

a visiting professor at King’s College London where he works with the Policy Institute at King’s,

a visiting professor at the Cass Business School,

a board member of the Institute for Fiscal Studies

and a visiting fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford.

On 9 February 2018, the University of Leicester announced they had elected David Willetts as successor to Bruce Grocott to become their new chancellor.[28]

As the minister responsible for universities, Willetts was an advocate and spokesperson for the coalition government’spolicy of increasing the cap on tuition fees in England and Wales from £3,225 to £9,000 per year.[14][15]

In November 2013, Willetts announced the sale of student loans to Erudio Student Loans – a debt collection consortium – removing £160m from public debt but ignoring the implications for former students.[16]

From Wikipedia

I think it would be fair to say that he has a bit of a vested interest in increasing the number of students, which will call for an increase in the number of lecturers and therefore more responsibility for the governing bodies of Universities and therefore more money for them. 

As always, particularly with the Tories, follow the money.

Every extra student brings in an extra £9000 a year to the Uni’s and most leave with a huge debt burden. When they enter the job market, the majority will find they cannot command a higher than average salary, and they are way behind their more enterprising friends who have been earning and building a career for the last three years and have no debts.

But David Willard and his ilk won’t give a damn.