22 Aug 10
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/7957110/Government-urged-to-reveal-true-national-debt-of-4.8trillion.html
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has calculated that the national debt is £4.8 trillion once state and public sector pension liabilities are included, or £78,000 for every person in the UK.
22 Aug 10
Originally posted by zeeblebotThe former government was obsessed by the notion that every child should be given the opportunity to be educated at an establishment called a university, regardless of what subjects they intended to study and whehter or not the work required a considerable degree of theoretical or academic knowledge for its satisfactory performsance.
what the heck happened in the UK Uni system?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/7952155/Seven-students-to-fight-for-every-clearing-place.html
As a result a multitude of non-academic courses, such as 'media studies', 'sports management', and nursing, were added to the curriculum of former technical colleges (renamed 'universities'😉, and opening new establishments of dubious academic standing.
This naturally led to an enormous increase in the number of applicants for a univerity place, and coincided with an ongoing policy of making it easier to obtain high marks in the qualifying 'A-level' examinations, together with the employment of persons with inferior academic attainments to mark the examination papers .
At the same time the government would not allow the top well-established universities to increase their fees for UK students, and this forced them to increase he number of places offered to foreign students who paid considerably more for their courses of study.
The following link elucidates the defects of the present A-level exammination. a
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/7957721/A-level-results-How-can-we-rescue-our-examination-system.html
22 Aug 10
Originally posted by Sartor ResartusHow does the current number of applicants per year relate to, say, 15 years ago?
The former government was obsessed by the notion that every child should be given the opportunity to be educated at an establishment called a university, regardless of what subjects they intended to study and whehter or not the work required a considerable degree of theoretical or academic knowledge for its satisfactory performsance.
As a result a ...[text shortened]... ph.co.uk/education/7957721/A-level-results-How-can-we-rescue-our-examination-system.html
22 Aug 10
Originally posted by FMFYou miss the point of the OP,and go off at a tangent as usual. Wake up.
I support people having the option to continue their education. I think U.K. citizens studying alongside foreign students is a good thing. I have no compunction whatsoever about overseas students paying more than their British classmates.
22 Aug 10
1 edit
Originally posted by Sartor ResartusMy reply was to your post. So if you think we are on a tangent, fair enough.
You miss the point of the OP,and go off at a tangent as usual.
Originally posted by Sartor Resartus
The former government was obsessed by the notion that every child should be given the opportunity to be educated at an establishment called a university, regardless of what subjects they intended to study and whehter or not the work required a considerable degree of theoretical or academic knowledge for its satisfactory performsance.
I support people having the option to continue their education.
Originally posted by Sartor Resartus
At the same time the government would not allow the top well-established universities to increase their fees for UK students, and this forced them to increase he number of places offered to foreign students who paid considerably more for their courses of study.
I think U.K. citizens studying alongside foreign students is a good thing. I have no compunction whatsoever about overseas students paying more than their British classmates.
There. Does that help you out a bit?
22 Aug 10
Originally posted by Sartor ResartusI think the change of terminology from 'polytechnic' to 'university' was cosmetic and of little real world relevance, except to the likes of the Colonel Blimp-ish Daily Telegraph, whose other - rather incongrous preoccupations, one would have thought - include oddly prurient coverage of rapes, and gusset shots of stretching women tennis players.
As a result a multitude of non-academic courses, such as 'media studies', 'sports management', and nursing, were added to the curriculum of former technical colleges (renamed 'universities'😉, and opening new establishments of dubious academic standing.
As for the proliferation of more vocational higher education or new combinations or focusses, I applaud it. I think that the tertiary sector's efforts to embrace a wider spectrum of society and offer a wider choice of education and training options is to be applauded too.
As for some institutions having better standing than others, that has always been the case, and always will be the case.
22 Aug 10
Originally posted by Sartor Resartuswe've got that "unusable degree" thing here, too. i think i posted an article here a while back about a girl who got her mom to cosign $100K+ in loans for a religious studies degree.
The former government was obsessed by the notion that every child should be given the opportunity to be educated at an establishment called a university, regardless of what subjects they intended to study and whehter or not the work required a considerable degree of theoretical or academic knowledge for its satisfactory performsance.
As a result a ...[text shortened]... ph.co.uk/education/7957721/A-level-results-How-can-we-rescue-our-examination-system.html
22 Aug 10
Originally posted by zeeblebotWhat happened to 'you pays yer money and you takes yer choice'? Interesting to hear people arguing against choice and innovation in service provision based on the existence of 'losers'.
we've got that "unusable degree" thing here, too. i think i posted an article here a while back about a girl who got her mom to cosign $100K+ in loans for a religious studies degree.
22 Aug 10
Originally posted by FMFthey could just as well have collected her money and taught her something useful.
What happened to 'you pays yer money and you takes yer choice'? Interesting to hear people arguing against choice and innovation in service provision based on the existence of 'losers'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_trick