Something needs to be done to reduce the number of university places on offer, thus increasing competition. Over the past 20 years, there has been an explosion in the number of degree courses on offer and many of them equip the people who have invested their time and money for nothing useful.
It seems to go back to the Blair era when the university bonanza started. I guess it was a political "feel good" exercise, cynically calculated to cause proud mums and dads to "well up" at the graduation ceremony and announce those immortal words "our Jade / Kyle is the first one from this family to go to university." The truth in so many cases is that Jade & Kyle were never academics and never will be. They are now saddled with a minimum £27000 debt and a useless degree which required no more effort to attain than simply turning up for 50% of the 2.5 hour per week lecture time.
Of course the other great con is that occupations which used to have training paid for by the employer, have now suddenly become degree level subjects. The NHS are into this. A degree in nursing, a degree for medical technicians and soon a degree in policemaning. These are not degree subjects, it's a con to make people pay for their own training.
The bottom line is that a few people are academically gifted and a lot aren't. Therefore, we need fewer university places, maybe with free tuition, and lots of good quality vocational training for the shitmunchers. It's the only way forward.
Finally a topic on which I should have a informed professional opinion.
In an era when the vast majority of people could not read or write, the few who could , irrespective of discipline, were at a premium. Any university degree was therefore " useful". But university degrees were never intended to be useful. What they were intended for was to develop the minds of a few, particularly of the ruling class. (.be they clergy, military officers ,or lawyers ).
Vocational education was on the other hand designed to meet specific needs, medical knowledge, engineering knowledge, architecture, mining etc. Some of the most prestigious colleges worldwide have their origins in these persuits.
These senior vocational education activities were corralled by the universities and degrees offered .
As society evolved with a greater amount of disposable money, and with an increasing middle class , more specialities emerged, and lower ranked institutions were set up. .. typing, accounting and bookkeeping, mechanic, technical training in the arts and crafts for commerce.
Snobbery and prestige for ones own group is one of the less likeable human traits, and there has always been a conflict between those who are in with those who are out. .. as long as university is associated with getting ahead then this conflict will exist.
Everybody wants to think that they are as good as anyone else . But not everyone thinks the same way. The university model is only suited to those who can think in the abstract and in generalisation
Now there are those who are capable of understanding and arguing abstract principles and going from an abstract principle to a concrete example. That mind set is what might be termed academic The majority of people can understand a concrete example and if shown a number of them can be brought to understand that there is a unifying principle or abstraction behind them.
. Example here is a wheel, I can spin it, here is a heavier bigger wheel I can spin it , it is harder to spin, and from these concrete examples introduce concepts of inertia. The abstract way would be inertia is represented by the letter I, and then do the maths... Only a small . Percentage of people can do that. And university is unsuitable for the others.
