The UK university system keeps changing as the current government seeks to open it up to competition, that chimera. My concern is with the idea that university education should always be about "giving students the skills they need for a good job in the marketplace". Sure, college skills are always going to be important for gainful employ, but some things are goods in themselves, not least, knowledge.
A poem for my mother, July 15 When she was dying And I was in a different country I dreamt I was there with her Flying over the ocean very quickly, And arriving in the room like a dream And I was a dream, but the meaning was more Than a dream has – it was a moving over time And land, over water, to get love across Fast enough, to be there, before she died, To lean over the small, huddled figure, In the dark, and without bothering her Even with apologies, and be a kiss in the air, A dream of a kiss, or even less, the thought of one, And when I woke, none of this had happened, She was still far distant, and we had not spoken.
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I am so glad that I went to university when I did. I received a first class education (with one on one tutorials!) and it didn't cost me a copper penny. I feel really sorry for kids like my nephew and niece who are going up to university in the next couple of years and will probably be saddled with debt for the rest of their lives.
Best wishes from Simon