Privatisation: The disincentives for University - Further Implications

Source: Royston Cartoons

In the last post I talked about how privatisation of education systems have had a negative effect on overall standards of teaching and research. In this post I will be looking at the further implications that this has on students themselves and not just the £27,000 debt that we are left to pay.

Privatisation of the universities have led the price of our education to sky rocket. Now while many of those in government argue there is very little change, in reality there is a massive change.
Those universities that only attract a small, niche set of students or specialise in a specific subject will likely not to exist in the long run as to put it 'most businesses fail, only few succeed.' This is a problem if we are to diversify education away from the elitist and restricted 'Oxbridge group' then we simply cannot treat universities as if they were business experiments. You don't leave a person's health down to the volatility of the market, so why do the same with a persons education.

So what other further knock on effects does this have? Well, social mobility as it stands is weak enough as it is with a diverse quality of education depending on where you live or how much you earn and what end of the large inequality gap you fall into. By privatising universities, it is not only choice that is compromised but also the social mobility benefits that comes with it. Those that doubt university because of the cost will reject it entirely and we will suffer a real loss of talent. Further if money becomes a prominent component of universities then they will inevitably try to attract foreign students to bring in the most revenue. Now I am not saying that foreign students should not apply, quite the opposite, but rather if there is a shift in focus towards those who will pay the most, then we will ultimately be restricting access from domestic students from lower social backgrounds. (Universities know that those who have the money or if they are an international student then they will most likely to pay in advance.)

So if the plan is to restrict talented and hard working students from applying to university, then I must give it 10/10 for the direction that it is going because at this rate we are prioritising the interests of the few, rather than the many.