Leaders of UK universities have said that the government should aim for 70% of young people to continue their education in university after leaving school, by 2040.
This comes after the Department of Education reported that the percentage of young people in England attending university exceeded 50% for the first time in 2017/2018.
Vice-chancellors across the UK have agreed that university is “essential to economic growth” and that maintenance grants should be restored.
The University of Manchester’s Vice Chancellor Duncan Ivison previously told The Mancunion that universities are the “heart” of “UK economic growth”.
Sean, a final-year Politics and International Relations student at the University of Manchester told The Mancunion the following:
“If there is a huge increase in students going to uni then it will lower the value of a degree and make an already highly competitive job market even more saturated.
Universities themselves will struggle as they would have to massively expand teaching facilities and student accommodation to account for such a huge increase in students”.
University leaders also stated that tuition fees in England ought to increase per the rate of inflation.
The government is considering this increase, which could see fees rise to £10,500 a year, alongside reinstating maintenance grants, pending approval from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.
Sally Mapstone, president of Universities UK (UUK) and vice-chancellor of the University of St Andrews, said,
“Universities are essential to economic growth. For every £1 spent on them, the government makes £14. We can take the path that leads to better and stronger universities, delivering on the new government’s missions, and doing more to open up opportunities to a broader range of people, or we can let them slide into decline”.
The same student, Sean, further expressed their views on the potential rise in tuition fees, saying:
“I worry that because of the lack of understanding regarding tuition fees, it might put more kids from working-class backgrounds off from going to uni“.
The “blueprint for change” report marks 25 years since former Prime Minister Tony Blair set the goal for half of young people in Britain to enter higher education by age 30, a target already achieved.
However, Professor Nick Pearce of the University of Bath, one of the authors of the blueprint, stated that the new target of 70% participation for young people in England should be broader and encompass all forms of tertiary education below degree level.
“This is not a ‘university’ participation target; it is one that would expand participation in all forms of education at level four and above, for example on sub-degree courses, such as higher national diplomas”.
