Despite fears of a graduate glut, a majority of young people now head to university (Photo… [+]
More than half of all young people now go to university, fulfilling a 20-year-old pledge and breaking a barrier that once seemed out of reach.
The proportion of young people in England going to university has topped 50% for the first time, according to government
figures
released today.
The figure measures the proportion of 17-30-year-olds who went into higher education in 2017/18, the latest year for which figures are available.
And it caps a steady increase which has seen the proportion going to university rise from just 41.8% in 2006/07, broken only by a brief surge and then dip around the increase in tuition fees in 2012/13.
When then U.K. prime minister Tony Blair said in 1999 that more than half of all students should go into higher education, many viewed it as a pipe dream. But today’s figures finally vindicate his stance, even though his original ambition to reach the target was 2010.
Reaching the threshold means a better educated workforce, which seems certain to prove a vital asset in an increasingly globalized economy where unskilled work is under threat both from automation and from lower-wage economies.
But there are some who harbor doubts over whether a university education is all it’s cracked up to be, and whether students are being pushed into going into higher education regardless of whether it is right for them.
University now comes with a hefty price tag, which for some will mean accruing debt that will hang over them for most of their working lives. And
research
published earlier this month found that, while overall a degree brings advantages both in employability and in income, in some subjects, graduates earn less than their peers who didn’t go to university.
There are also concerns over the high drop-out rates at some universities, as students decide it is not for them after all. Today’s figures cover those who stayed in higher education for at least six months.
Such is the disquiet over the cost of higher education versus the benefits, that universities have even been
accused
of mis-selling their courses.
But despite fears that graduates could still end up in unskilled jobs, higher education remains the aspiration for many, and is widely seen as a route to success.
Regardless of the material benefits, university also offers an unrivalled opportunity for students to study a subject they love, surrounded by like-minded people in an environment unlike any other.
And for students from less affluent backgrounds in particular, university provides the most likely way they can improve their prospects
Today’s figures also revealed that the gap between the number of men and women going to university remains broadly stable at around 12.5%, with 56.6% of women aged 17-30 entering higher education, compared with 44.1% of men.
There has also been an increase in the number of graduates going on to postgraduate study, as a bachelor’s degree no longer provides the competitive advantage that it used to offer, rising from 8.7% in 2006/07 to 11.0% in 2017/18.
The gap between male and female graduates has widened, from 4.8% in 2016/17 to 5.1% in 2017/18, with women more likely to embark on a postgraduate course.
