Government Budgets and Priority
- Nov 24, 2016
- 2 min read
Did you know that our Minister for Education Richard Bruton has welcomed a report from an expert group on Future Funding of Higher Education? Within the report are several possible models for future funding, the most controversial of which appears to be a loan system. We hit the walkways of campus to find out what students think about the issue. Gabi, a journalism student, thinks that loans are “Unacceptable”. Immediately her mind turns toward what will happen if you fail to get a job straight out of college. “You are going to be broke. The government has to solve this problem.” Samantha, a prospective student, is “Not looking forward to the fees. I am saving money, because if the loan system isto be introduced, it is going to be hard. Living away from home is expensive enough already and paying a loan for the rest of your life is ridiculous”. One of the proposed models by the government isthe introduction of a loan system. Under the proposal there would be no student charges upon entry. Instead, the government would provide a student loan to cover the full cost of tuition. This loan the has to be paid back incrementally after your graduation. Payments are sought after you reach a certain income threshold. In this model a percentage of the loan would be deducted from yoursalary each month.
Dylan, an Astrophysics PhD candidate, says “Six years ago, student’s administration fees were €2,000 a year. Two years ago it was €2,500, and now it’s €3,000. That is a 50% increase over half a decade”. One of the main concerns appears to be that there will be a gradual increase of the fees under the loan system. This system is in place elsewhere. It is very close to systems in the UK and Australia, where the latter has seen a steady increase in fees under their HIgher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) loan system over the years. Average HECS repayments currently stand at AU$50,000 (€35,000). The UK, has followed the same path and nowadays the model operates with very low state funding and student contributions of upwards of £44,000 (€52,000). Another extreme case can be found in the USA. Here, state funding is minimal state funding and very high student contribution, students leave college with a “mortgage-type” student loan of $38,000 (€36,000). The vast majority of students interviewed firmly rejected the loan system as an option they would like to see implemented. What is your opinion on this matter? Please feel free to leave a comment, an idea, or proposal on how the government should deal with funding higher education in our country.
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These are the links to the figures I used.
Australia http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/university-students-to-pay-50000-for-an-aver age-degree-20160407-go0rau.html
UK http://www.bbc.com/news/education-36150276
US https://studentloanhero.com/student-loan-debt-statistics/
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