Looks like the brits are still a fine people

[HoreTore]

BBC linky

THIS is how a protest is made! The French have finally been outdone!



Smash the buggers.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Everyone likes a riot. *appropriate smilie I can't be bothered to find*

But on a more serious note, what exactly are they angry at? Do they plan on funding Uni's with money that doesn't exist?

[HoreTore]

Do they plan on funding Uni's with money that doesn't exist?

Take it from the elderly, after all it's their fault we're in this mess. You could do it in a sneaky way though, with a special tax on After Eight for example....

Or the military, that's also a pure expense. But trying to save money by cutting investments as opposed to expenses is idiotic.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Whoever caused the problem, it doesn't change the fact we have to deal with it now. How would we punish the elderly instead... they've got it bad enough already I think.

[HoreTore]

Whoever caused the problem, it doesn't change the fact we have to deal with it now. How would we punish the elderly instead... they've got it bad enough already I think.

The elderly will have to learn that there are consequences to their actions, there is no get out of jail card in real life.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Meh, my Gran gets a pension of something like £90 a week, I'm not going to get upset because some student can't get another x thousands funding so he can party for another year.

Man I am in a confrontational mood today, but really, University is a joke, don't know if you read my Frontroom thread a few days ago.

[HoreTore]

Cutting uni funding is like trying to save money by saving gas and staying home instead of driving to work. It's pure nonsense.

EDIT: Yeah, who needs teachers, engineers, nurses, etc etc....

[Rhyfelwyr]

Depends on what they are studying at Uni. If it is a useful profession, and will help train them for a position that the job-market has a demand for, then what you say it true.

But with things like teachers etc... we have so many of them it is ridiculous, many are now having to work for nothing just to get a foot in the school system. And that's not even going into courses like Sports Medicine or Media Studies or whatever.

[HoreTore]

But with things like teachers etc... we have so many of them it is ridiculous, many are now having to work for nothing just to get a foot in the school system. And that's not even going into courses like Sports Medicine or Media Studies or whatever.

Send 'em over here then, there's a critical need for teachers over here... Which is the primary reason I chose to be one above the other stuff that interested me a few years ago.

I can basically pick and choose where and what I want to work with. And it'll only get worse in the future, much of the teaching staff is aging and due to retire over the next few years... IIRC we'll have a shortage of around 10.000 teachers in five years, even though recruitment is going up.

[Tellos Athenaios]

Your gran gets £90,- state handout a week? When I studied I could only claim €75,- a month and I am expected to pay that back in due course. Where are those thousands you speak of Rhyfelwyr? <_<

[gaelic cowboy]

Send 'em over here then, there's a critical need for teachers over here... Which is the primary reason I chose to be one above the other stuff that interested me a few years ago.

I can basically pick and choose where and what I want to work with. And it'll only get worse in the future, much of the teaching staff is aging and due to retire over the next few years... IIRC we'll have a shortage of around 10.000 teachers in five years, even though recruitment is going up.

Norway routinely cordons off skilled professions with red tape etc to prevent such use of skilled foreign labour your unions would never allow it.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Send 'em over here then, there's a critical need for teachers over here... Which is the primary reason I chose to be one above the other stuff that interested me a few years ago.

I can basically pick and choose where and what I want to work with. And it'll only get worse in the future, much of the teaching staff is aging and due to retire over the next few years... IIRC we'll have a shortage of around 10.000 teachers in five years, even though recruitment is going up.

So we educate them and you profit?

Your gran gets £90,- state handout a week? When I studied I could only claim €75,- a month and I am expected to pay that back in due course. Where are those thousands you speak of Rhyfelwyr? <_<

It's a pension so she presumably contributed some herself. Anyway, I get less than that, the point is you can still work when you are at Uni. And it's the education itself that costs thousands.

[HoreTore]

Norway routinely cordons off skilled professions with red tape etc to prevent such use of skilled foreign labour your unions would never allow it.

Yes....... Like how we don't have any foreign doctors, nurses, carpenters, etc etc........

And that's ignoring the fact that as a fellow EU-member, we cannot ban Brits.

What we do is demand that foreign workers are paid the same as a Norweigan worker. Are you able to name a profession we have "cordoned off"...?

So we educate them and you profit?

Don't worry, there are plenty of Norwegians looking to work in the UK as well, that's a little thing I like to call an "exchange"

[gaelic cowboy]

Enter the Bank now fairly soon with American style college loans in Britain and Ireland.

[Tellos Athenaios]

I get less than that, the point is you can still work when you are at Uni. And it's the education itself that costs thousands.

True, education is expensive. I was just wondering where the thousands came from.

However I would submit that Universities only get a small portion of their funding through state subsidy or grants or similar programmes; at least the uni I went to acquires rather more funds through applied research (typically funded by private enterprises) or through spin offs of successful research projects.

[gaelic cowboy]

Yes....... Like how we don't have any foreign doctors, nurses, carpenters, etc etc........

And that's ignoring the fact that as a fellow EU-member, we cannot ban Brits.

What we do is demand that foreign workers are paid the same as a Norweigan worker. Are you able to name a profession we have "cordoned off"...?



Don't worry, there are plenty of Norwegians looking to work in the UK as well, that's a little thing I like to call an "exchange"

Eh Norway isnt in the EU

and your only covered to work in Norway's oil and gas industry unless you do Norways safety courses yet OPITO courses cover everyone else trust me I checked.

[HoreTore]

Eh Norway isnt in the EU

As far as working in Norway is concerned: yes, we are.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Don't worry, there are plenty of Norwegians looking to work in the UK as well, that's a little thing I like to call an "exchange"

So suddenly we're a fan of the free market and the free movement of labour?

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

The only way to close the funding gap that is fair is to cut places and close universities. Take the bottom 20% of Uni's, close, sell off their buildings and return their funding to more worthy institutions, cut places at other Universities by 30% and you're done.

Those clever enough to get a place will, those who aren't won't. If you really want it you can keep applying until someone takes you. While we're at it, we should tripple the workload of the average undergraduate, they spend far too much time drinking and partying right now.

[gaelic cowboy]

To be honest I dont see why they couldnt just shrink all those arts degrees down to two years etc.

[Rhyfelwyr]

While we're at it, we should tripple the workload of the average undergraduate.

Try it and that'll be me smashing into the Conservative offices next time!

[gaelic cowboy]

Try it and that'll be me smashing into the Conservative offices next time!

Tell me Rhyfelwyr what colour was Rachel Rileys skirt today??? bah students in arts courses have loads of time

[rory_20_uk]

When 5% go to uni it's sustainable for the government to fund it.
When 50% go to uni it's not.

That's 3 years lost taxes for those that should have jobs, and no, people are not vastly cleverer. There are just more crap degrees and teh standard for jobs is artificially raised to a BSc / BA as so many people have one.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Tell me Rhyfelwyr what colour was Rachel Rileys skirt today??? bah students in arts courses have loads of time

I was much too busy vegetating in front of my PC today, have to say I missed Countdown. And Deal or no Deal! And that funny programme they now have on BBC about the Canadian mounty that solves crimes in New York. It is so funny, I thought it couldn't get better than Doctor Sloan gliding aroud Community General in his rollerskates and telling criminals how he solves their crimes while tap-dancing with them, but this goes the extra mile.

Fair point about the degree length, the BBC did an article on just that matter recently, can't find it now though. 2 years would have been more than enough for what I've had to do.

[gaelic cowboy]

I was much too busy vegetating in front of my PC today, have to say I missed Countdown. And Deal or no Deal! And that funny programme they now have on BBC about the Canadian mounty that solves crimes in New York. It is so funny, I thought it couldn't get better than Doctor Sloan gliding aroud Community General in his rollerskates and telling criminals how he solves their crimes while tap-dancing with them, but this goes the extra mile.

Due South

Years ago RTE used show that Diagnosis Murder and I specifically remember an episode with an actual vampire in it

[Beskar]

Try it and that'll be me smashing into the Conservative offices next time!

yeah if horetore did that, you might have do the half average workload of a real degree.

[tibilicus]

The University funding issue highlights a bigger problem with the state system as a whole. Although popular belief will tell us that since the 80s, the public sector has been cut back more and more, this isn't the case. Relative state spending has gone up, it happened even under Thatcher, the problem is demand on the state is so great that demand simply exceeds availability of resources with in the state my model.

R.E universities, my personal solution would be to cut the number of places drastically. That doesn't mean that people can't go to university, how about we just adopt a different system. Those who want to go to proper universities can go when they're 18 and those who would normally go to a former polly can postpone their education for a couple of years. If they genuine need the skills from a university course, they can go back and study part-time later on and who knows, maybe even their employer might support them.

Point being it's wrong that so many people should start their lives crippled by debt, it only leads to a vicious cycle of repayments and life long debt. University can be free for those who need it, we do however need to fundamentally change our system before we end up at the awful American mode.

[gaelic cowboy]

R.E universities, my personal solution would be to cut the number of places drastically. That doesn't mean that people can't go to university, how about we just adopt a different system. Those who want to go to proper universities can go when they're 18 and those who would normally go to a former polly can postpone their education for a couple of years. If they genuine need the skills from a university course, they can go back and study part-time later on and who knows, maybe even their employer might support them.

If UK is anything like Ireland then employers basically demanded the Pollytechnics etc become something more to supply more maintainence technicians and masses of engineers, draughtsmen etc for the "Smart Economy"

Uni's can be poor at supplying these types of people for industry at least in UK/Ireland

[Rhyfelwyr]

Due South

Years ago RTE used show that Diagnosis Murder and I specifically remember an episode with an actual vampire in it

lol, I remember that episode as well! I always wondered what would happen if they did something like that in an otherwise reality based TV show... Dick van Dyke is the man.

yeah if horetore did that, you might have do the half average workload of a real degree.

A bit of jealousy there methinks. Anyway, I am doing real degree, at a real Uni, that will get me a real job. With a real two hours classes a week. Ha!

[drone]

Due South

Diefenbaker ruled.