Friday, 10 December 2010

Tuition Fees - My Two Cents

I am a prospective student, hoping to start in 2011 and I want to put in my thoughts about the last 24 hours.
I am appalled by the behaviour of those individuals who turned yesterday's protest in London from peaceful to destructive. I understand that these people are angry, but that is no reason to use violence! I think these individuals need to take a lesson from the most famous peaceful march in history: Martin Luther King's march in Washington DC (the one where he made his 'I Have A Dream' speech).
Honestly, what was the achievement in attacking the Royal car? It wasn't Prince Charles nor the Duchess of Cornwall who made the decision on the fees.
I, of course, am all for the cause, but these things can be done in peace. The focus should be on the message, not vandalising public buildings. Oh and Winston Churchill's statue too!!! And climbing up the cenotaph too! These war memorials are nothing to do with the matter at hand!
And now to the British government and Mr Cameron: You elitist b*******s! (Sorry, had to get it out.)
By raising the fees, many people will be put off applying to universities because of a massive debt they will have to pay off . £9,000 a year is extortionate. And many find it difficult to get a job in their chosen field, even though they are qualified. I do not want to have to pay off £27,000 for the rest of my life! And my chosen career is in the Performing Arts, and I am perfectly aware that means I will be spending more time trying to find work than actually doing work. With fees such as this, there is no way I will be able to clear my debt. I did consider applying to Drama School, but their fees are about £11,000 a year and because of this I opted for universities. And my 17 year old brother, George, is in the same boat as me. He is looking at a career in animation and he feels as strongly as I do. Both my brother s and myself watched Newsnight last night and even when it was over we were still discussing it. George said that "politicians think only in the short term" and I think he's right.
Who does this benefit in the long term? It's just taking more of the tax payer's money to help with the funding scheme. I also think it's not helping our economy.
And another point: There is no money going into Arts and Humanities. What improvement can be made to these departments if there is no funding for them? This means that my brothers and I are stuffed because this will have an effect on our learning experience. I will add that all the cuts made in education will mean that the departments will suffer in one way or another.
And why is EMA being scrapped? My brother Josh is starting at Sixth Form next year, and with our household income, EMA is greatly appreciated.
Despite yesterday's mishaps, I hope the government will realise that we will still fight for our rights and that they made the wrong decision.
This is my final thought: In the Human Rights Act, it states that every citizen has the right to a decent education. Is this decision taking away those rights?

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