Almost half of British people think that university attendance is too high, according to a YouGov poll published in October.
The survey found that 45 per cent of people feel that too many young people go to university, with 46 per cent of Brits believing that an apprenticeship prepares young people for the future better than a degree. Only six per cent take the opposite view.
Increasing university attendance was notably prioritised by Tony Blair’s Labour Government, with the target of 50 per cent attendance being set in 1999.
By 2022/23, 49 per cent of state school pupils from England had started higher education by the of age 25. In 2024, 37 per cent of eighteen-year-olds went on to university.
At Labour conference this year, however, Prime Minister Keir Starmer set out a new target: to have two thirds of young people higher-level learning— academic, technical, or apprenticeships — by age 25.
Furthermore, the polling found that degrees like Performing Arts, Media, and English Literature are seen as the least likely to leave young people better off. This comes after much has been made of “rip off degrees” in recent years, with political figures like Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch suggesting that a cap should be put on the number of students studying creative subjects.
Whilst some argue that a focus on vocational courses like apprenticeships more practically set young people up for careers, others worry that already disadvantaged students will be discouraged from going into higher education under the new targets.
Tackling Elitism, a University of Edinburgh based society focussing on widening participation students, said: “Elitism within higher education has meant that access to university has always been much harder for Widening Participation students.”
“An anti-university sentiment is so dangerous for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, as it risks isolating whole groups of voices from academia and elite careers, as well as halting the social mobility progresses that have been made.”
This week, it was announced that tuition fees in England will rise in line with inflation on a permanent basis but only for institutions that meet certain Office for Students quality thresholds.
University College Union General Secretary Jo Grady accused the Government of “doubling down on the disastrous tuition-fees funding model, which created the crisis the sector is currently facing.”
The Department for Education argue increasing tuition fees is necessary for securing the finances of the 43 per cent of universities forecast to register a deficit this financial year.
However, the increasing cost of living and debt burden for students has undoubtedly increased concern over how worthwhile university is.
One student told The Student: “it worries me that university is becoming more unaffordable, because I think that everyone has the right to education.”
“I don’t like this idea that university isn’t a worthy investment; I feel like that excludes certain people and diminishes the value of certain degrees.”
Image by Spencer Siles