Education isn’t a political football.

This article has appeared on BBC Wales News today – University Applicants in Wales down 9.3%.

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“Figures from university admission service UCAS show applications to higher education institutions in Wales are down on the previous year as the deadline approaches.”

However the article does say that there has been a late surge in applications during November and December, and that the majority of applications to Welsh institutions are from English students. So the news headlines include the same vague, scaremongering messages that the Labour Party used following the Government’s decision to raise tuition fees.

Which – no – I don’t totally agree with. The change in the policy however did include a change in the repayment system, which is far fairer now than it ever was under a Labour government.

If applications from English students have not suffered the same drop that applications from Welsh students has, surely the change in tuition fee policy can’t be to blame? It puts a hole straight through the rhetoric. The Welsh Government are subsidising fees meaning that applications from Welsh students should be at the same level, or even increased, if we follow the mentality that a hike in tuition fees is damaging to HE.

Surely this shows a failure on the Welsh Government’s behalf to push through the policy of their subsidising of Welsh students’ fees? Perhaps Leighton should go back to the drawing board. It also puts a hole straight through the rhetoric that the increase in tuition fees is damaging to HE and deters students from furthering their education – it’s the misguided rhetoric over tuition fees that is damaging to HE.

Education isn’t a political football, but didn’t stop the misleading messages peddled by politicians and the media.

 

Spend, spend, spend.

Although this article may be a few days old, a few Tweets posted this morning by Adrian Masters shows that Labour’s spending culture isn’t over – in short, they haven’t learnt.

The article says that the Welsh Government has “raided” its reserves to deliver Labour’s manifesto commitments – Wales’ economy is footing the bill to avoid hypocrisy. The figures show, following the publication of the draft Welsh Budget, that at the beginning of the next financial year the government will have just £127m, or 0.95% of its budget in reserve for “unforeseen circumstances”.

However, Labour’s ignorance seems as bold as ever. Minister Jane Hutt told Good Morning Wales that “[..] the reserves are adequate.”

“We are in unprecedented times in terms of the cuts we have had from the UK government – a six percent cut in revenue and 21 percent cut in capital this year.”

Whatever the figures say Jane Hutt appears to have her head buried in the sand, and once again it’s the nasty coalition’s fault that they’ve had to cut budgets to deal with the deficit.

Moving on to Adrian Masters’ tweets – apparently Labour’s tuition fee commitment includes subsidising fees for EU students, meaning they will only have to pay £3465. Whilst I agree with the policy of tuition subsidy by the Welsh Government, personally I’d see it limited to Welsh domiciled students. I don’t see the current policy as being sustainable long-term – particularly when the Government’s reserves have been wiped – and with the policy now including EU students, it will only make matters worse.

When Labour councils seem to be cutting jobs to protect font-line services (when other councils are managing to protect front-line services without cutting the same level of jobs), when they seem to be dwindling budgets and reserves without a second thought of the future or policy commitments, when they’re promising and proposing policies which do not appear sustainable long-term, the question that needs to be asked (again) is, can we trust Labour on the economy?

“Labour Abandon Students (again)!” – Peter Black

Peter Black, Welsh Liberal Democrat AM, has posted a blog article regarding Labour’s recent Tuition Fees policy, a u-turn by the party having completely opposed the Coalition Government’s policy to raise fees during the student protests.

You can read the article here.

Tuition Fees

Tuition Fees – Article for Arfon Lib Dem Candidate, 2011 Assembly Election

Tuition fees are one of the biggest concerns that students have about applying for university. Although we’re given loans to cover tuition fees and our maintenance costs, we are lumped with large debts after leaving university. Many students are put off going to University because of the – already – high fees that entails a university education, and the government’s decision to raise tuition fees will surely result in less people going to university.

That could mean that able students who should applying for university, who would succeed at university, will be unwilling to apply. Everyone should have the opportunity to receive a university education, regardless of their background or their family’s financial situation, and raising tuition fees will completely eradicate the ability to do this. As I mentioned to begin with, however, tuition fees are already a concern for students, yet the number of spaces on courses are fewer every year because of the increase in the number students applying for university courses – so how much of an effect do tuition fees have on students’ decision to study at University? From a personal point of view, if the government is going to cut university spending by 40% over the next few years, which could see university standards and availability falling, universities need funding from elsewhere. I would rather be able to go to university and pay off debts, than be refused a space because of limitations and not achieve what I’d aimed to achieve.

If the government go ahead with plans of bursaries for students from lower income backgrounds, first year tuition free paid for by the government for achieving students from lower income backgrounds and the increase of loan repayments to when graduates earn over £21,000, then the burden of higher tuition fees seems a little lighter.

For Welsh students, tuition fees will be subsidised by the Welsh Assembly Government which will hopefully result in the effect of cuts and increases on universities being less damaging, however we will have to wait to realise what effect the cuts will really have on universities and students in years to come.