Quality | 2010.03.09
Labour told to scrap university target
The government\'s strategy has driven down standards and devalued degrees, say graduate recruiters
Labour\'s target of getting 50% of young people to go to university has driven down standards and devalued degrees – and the next government should abolish it, leading graduate recruiters argued today.
The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), which represents 750 employers, many of them blue-chip companies, also called for a phased increase in top-up fees. It said its proposals would force higher education institutions to be more open about the job prospects their courses offered.
The body, whose members recruit around 30,000 graduates a year, said families should be encouraged to save for university through a national savings scheme. It wants the current cap on tuition fees, which restricts them to £3,225 a year, to be gradually removed – with no limit to remain by 2020.
The AGR\'s chief executive, Carl Gilleard, said: "Too many young people are left to graduate without vital employability skills. We urge all political parties to consider the practical recommendations in our manifesto – adopting them would have huge benefits for the economy and help to reaffirm the value of a degree.
"We know that some of these calls to action – particularly those which relate to funding and finance – are unlikely to receive a universal welcome. After careful consideration, however, we have concluded that this package of measures is the best way to drive up standards in higher education, provide a better return on investment for students and parents, and ensure the UK remains competitive in a global knowledge economy."
The report called for "employability skills" to be embedded in all degree courses, more high-quality work experience for students before and during university, better careers advice, and the introduction of a "higher education achievement report" alongside degree classifications, to measure and record student development.
A review into the future of fees, headed by Lord Browne, will not report back until after the general election, and both Labour and the Tories have refused to state a position on raising the cap.
The National Union of Students (NUS) branded the AGR\'s proposals offensive. Its president, Wes Streeting, said: "The AGR does not seem to appreciate how much its own members benefit from our higher education system. It is in the long-term interest of our economy that the number of highly skilled graduates entering our workforce continues to increase.
"At a time when students are leaving university with record levels of debt, and graduate job prospects are at an all time low, it is offensive to argue that the cap on fees should be raised at all, let alone lifted entirely.
"The vast majority of the general public is against higher fees. If the cap on fees were scrapped, a disastrous market in higher education would open up, which would see poorer students priced out of more prestigious universities, and other students and universities consigned to the \'bargain basement\'. This would be a disaster for UK higher education and must not be allowed to happen."
The University and College Union (UCU) said the report was out of touch. The union\'s general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: "The future for the UK is at the forefront of a high-skilled knowledge economy – and we won\'t get there with less graduates. The three main beneficiaries of higher education have been identified as the state, the individual and the employer, yet only two of them are picking up the bill.
It is time that business started to make a proper contribution to university funding, instead of parroting its siren calls to increase the debt of students and the burden on hardworking families struggling in tough economic times."
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/mar/09/abolish-50percent-target
