Education in the News – February 2ndÂ
By Wendy Morrisey
Record numbers of applicants for university places were reported this month with an increase of over 4%, an overall of 58,000 applicants. With a decrease in the gap between, young people from disadvantages backgrounds and young people from more affluent homes.
This came as a surprise since universities can now charge up to £9,000 per academic year. YEUK is interested to know what subjects will be oversubscribed at universities as it appears that many students are studying subjects where related career opportunities are virtually non-existent. It is becoming apparent that students may benefit more from apprenticeship and on the job training opportunities as opposed to investing 30k on a degree course that may never help them achieve their dream job.
These statistics appear to be a part of a long term trend and counteracts the initial claims that young people will be put off going into higher education with the increase in tuition fees. Whether this means that there will be a greater demand for higher education is unknown at this point as students are still able to apply for higher education courses until June 2014. It will also be interesting to find out whether there will be an increase in university drop-outs in 2014.
Many scholars, academics and government officials have put forward their opinions on what might be the reasons behind the increase and it appears that there are a few popular ideas. Due to the heightened media attention young people have become more aware of the financial reality and importance of investing in a degree for their future. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds now have greater access to funding and bursary systems and will now pay lower loan repayments once they are in well-paid jobs.
Another issue of particular concern for YEUK is the increasing gender gap within higher education. Over a third of the applicants seeking university places were female yet it is reported that despite girls gaining a better quality of education men are still overtaking women in the work place. It’s is often found that men are higher paid when in the same positions as female and men are more likely to be in senior management positions.
DID you apply to university this year? Have your say! Get in touch admin@youthemployment.org.uk
