The rich are getting richer during this economic crisis and in the UK, they've already made it much easier for the rich-but-dumb crowd to buy their way into universities. Now, the Tories have made money an even stronger component in the decision making process. Besides being more easy money for the bankers, anyone with a loan for university also gets easy access. (Unlike the US, university in the UK used to be reasonably priced and easy to afford without a bank loan. The Tory austerity plan blew up that old pricing model.)
So come to England where if you had wads of cash or if you want to help your local banker, you too can get ahead. Oh what a fair system brought to you by the blue bloods. How can anyone argue that this is not more class warfare from the haves?
Universities UK, which represents universities, has been consulted. Its president, Sir Steve Smith, who is vice-chancellor of Exeter University, said the proposal to allow banks to exploit the student market carried huge risks and could create a two-tier education system.
He said the Department for Business Innovation and Skills had proposed that students taking private loans would be counted outside the allotment of places each university is given by the government, making them attractive to colleges aiming to increase their cash flow.
Smith said the consequent risk of a two-tier higher education system had "nasty" implications. "They [the government] have talked to us about that, but the trouble is that it has the obvious objection that it looks awfully like those people buying their way in."
