Education Debate in London

As you may – or may not – know, the cost of higher education in the United States can be exorbitant. Generally speaking, tuition varies greatly depending on the type of institution you are applying to and a number of other factors like whether you are an in-state or out-of-state student. On average though, public four-year colleges charge $7,605 and private colleges charge $27,293 per year for tuition. Add on housing fees and other miscellaneous costs and you could end up paying quite a bit of money (or borrowing quite a bit of money) to attain a higher education.

Britain, however, has a different approach. In fact, higher education was tuition-free until as recently as 1998, the year means-tested tuition fees were introduced. However, those fees were capped at £3,000 ($4,700) in 2003 since the general sentiments in Britain are that a low-cost education is an intrinsic right,. Recently, however, due to budget deficits, the British government has been considering raising tuition and removing some subsidies for university students, causing protests and riots to break out throughout Britain.

On November 10th, for instance, up to 50,000 students marched through the streets of London to protest the tuition hikes, proposed by the Conservative Party, which could triple tuition rates to £9,000 ($14,200). The protest turned violent when students shattered the windows of the Millbank Tower, the Conservative Party’s headquarters, spray-painted anarchy symbols on the walls, and occupied the building.

Just last week, on November 24th, another crowd gathered in London to demonstrate against the tuition increase. A few protesters managed to break into a police van, after smashing the windshield and spray-painting the side; protesters also threw missiles at buses in central London, smashing windows and causing many routes to be diverted away from the Whitehall and Trafalgar Square area. Demonstrations also occurred in: Brighton, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham, Oxford, Liverpool, and Sheffield. And in places like Winchester, Cambridge, Leeds, and London, number of students walked out of class to protest the tuition increases.

What is your opinion about the proposed tuition increases in Britain? How do you think you would react if you were in the same situation? What are your thoughts on tuition in the United States in comparison? Please leave us a comment with your thoughts!

This post was researched and written by One To World intern, Jessica Zhang.