First thought was very selfish "BUT I WANTED THE MONEYS!" and ended up getting very worked up about how the government was failing us students and younger peoples. Also deciding I'd attend the protests this Wednesday (I have free period then anyway). No one was really listening as half the people were more concentrated on walking straight and not getting lost. Ah wells.
Funny Picturings :)
The abolishment of the EMA may not be as bad as it seems since it's being replaced by a fairer system whereby students who can't afford to go to college are given money in a similar way to the EMA. And EMA was far too easy to get, and often isn't used in the way it should be (some of us attend private schools and could still get EMA to pay for our lunches or just for extra pocket money). Henceforth, people will not be encouraged to take P.E., Design Technology and General Studies "just so that they can put off work and claim money from the taxpayer...if you see what I mean ^^" as Blakoe states. In the end, only the people who are only going to college for the sake of getting £30/week will be put off; on the other hand, the people from poorer backgrounds will still be able to go to college - the government is making sure that finance isn't as big a barrier as most people seem to believe.
And nobody's going to miss out on University just because they can't afford it. The reform is tactical (ahh I wish i could insert Cod references here): it prevents people from going to Uni just because they want to put off any real works and instead study Media at Portsmouth Uni (no offense). It also means that you can be earning £20k and still not have to pay it back. What Labour did is aim to get 50% of people at Uni just because they wanted to hide unemployment. It's great to want an educated workforce but more than half the population is not cut out for Uni. The new system ensures that anybody - no matter their background - who genuinely (and that keep that word in mind) wants and needs to go to Uni is not prevented by financial boundaries.
"The EMA, Tuition Fees and Child Tax Credit all affect me but I support them because it's the right thing to do for this country and in the long-term we will all be better-off" what a patriot :')
Some of you peeps may ask "what is this fairer system you speak of? does it have a name ? i wanna google it" Because EMA was only given to people who's parents earn less than £30 000p/a. What I formerly understood was that a new form of EMA was being established but only for students who are studying more "serious" subjects.
As for those serially worrying about the tuition fees outrage, this might provide some sense of relief;
students will pay nothing up front. The repayments only start when they earn over £21,000, at nine per cent of income( like 30£ a month). If their earnings drop down again, the payments stop. If they stop working, the payments stop. Once the cost of the course are repaid, the payments stop. After 30 years (yonks!), regardless of circumstance, the payments stop.
Gurd. The payments stop.
And universities who want to increase their fees will have to focus the extra money they get on those who need financial help, which is gurd too *thumbs up everyboday!
But then I asked myself: doesn't this mean that more people wont go to uni, and a number of us will drop out of college? Wouldnt that mean that there'd be a higher unemployment rate and the gap between uni educated and non uni people will increase? (and it always boils down to a social gap to be honest)
The answer to that is that Labour have been trying to make students believe that Unis are the only way forward and if you don't go to one you will fail in life. This is not completely true; only a select number of careers benefit from a Uni education: if you look at the bigger picture other forms of education include apprenticeships, vocational courses and other forms of work experience. The current government may be decreasing University funding but they are increasing the number of apprenticeship positions available and which will (hopefully) make our workforce a better-educated one, hopefully reducing the social gap.
For Unis, there are always scholarships/grants, certain grants are even paid for by companies.
I know a guy who was sponsored by a bank (I forget which one); they head hunted him (less painful than it sounds lol), paid for his Uni education, sent him on work experience, then employed him. Amazing! But that's for those of you who are motivated (or with enough contacts)
Here be another example.
http://www.deloitte.co.uk/scholars/
Another thing: Labour have been covering up unemployment figures by keeping people in education as long as possible. Now, only people who are studying for the sake of not doing real work will be stopped (harsh as it may sound, it's like they want people to drop out of college) .It doesn't make a more intellectual workforce and it costs the government enormous amounts of money. People who want to be engineers, medics, accountants and lawyers, for example, will not be stopped - if anything, the savings the government makes on EMA COULD be contributed to encouraging the hard-working poorer sections of society to succeed in education and employment. Qualifications should be enough motivation to attend college. Hmn, sounds about right.
So 1/2 billion is being saved by refocusing EMA on those who are honestly in need of it; I suppose the government will do this by specifying the criteria (not just- you're family income must be < 30 000)
They are also ending centrally directed programmes for children, young people and families. This'll no doubt free up alot of money but its unfortunate that communities will suffer as a result. But then again, the majority of us will suffer in this climate. (sunnyyyy lol)
Okay, so talking statistics, the real unemployment rate will show through, but that's just numbers; being honest about unemployment figures is one thing, but doing something about it is another. And atm the whole literally forcing certain people out of education and into a world where finding a job is so hard, especially for those with less experience and qualifications, isnt going to help. Non Labour supporters would argue that in the past, instead of actually creating jobs and stimulating businesses, Labour just put people into Uni when it didn't help them as much as it should.But then I suppose the apprenticeship schemes and vocational courses patch that up. liking the rebalancing of university education vs layman workforce (i know thats not the proper term bt thts all i can think of lol)
Its just that i know a few kids our age who will drop out of school and probably just do nothing with their lives now; they needed that little bit of insentive, but i suppose its their decision.It's really sad that this happens because the benefits of college should be obvious to everybody and if Further Education isn't encouraged then we will have more people dropping out like that. On the other hand, I don't think that money should be the 'encouragement' or the incentive but instead it should be clear that good A-Levels will help them succeed in life.
Blakoe says: On helping the hard-working but poorer sections of society: Margaret Thatcher did exactly this in the 80s: she believe that it should be easier for people to change social classes. She believed that people who worked hard and created businesses should be rewarded and even if they were born into the working class, they could become middle or upper by the end of their lives. After all, Thatcher *was* working class when she was young! Lady Thatcher believed in this and so when Richard Branson - the working class entrepreneur - was successful, Thatcher immediately knighted him. My point is that the Conservatives aren't "against the poor" (as is believed by many), they are against anybody (whether rich or poor) who does nothing for the benefit of this country.
I always thought: tis curious how hypocrisy seems to happen alot in politics (like Lib Dem relying on their opposition to tuition fees to secure the student vote), although compromise is inevitable in a coalition and you would have got a minority Tory government otherwise...
In the end this is life, this is our country, and I suppose for those really concerned for their chances of getting into Uni now that it's even more competitive than before, should focus on their work and prepare to be at the top of their game once it gets to crunch time. Because it seems like this really is a game of survival of the fittest.
Browne's review:
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