Alarming drop in university applications from 18-year-olds in Wales
New figures released today show an alarming drop in the proportion of 18-year-olds in Wales applying to go to university, with the gap between Wales and the rest of the UK now at its widest.
Amanda Wilkinson, Director of Universities Wales, said: ‘Today’s UCAS data again demonstrates the scale of the participation challenge facing Wales with the number of applicants from Wales dropping to a 15-year low.
“We now have the lowest proportion of 18-year-olds applying for university in the UK, with the gap between Wales and the UK wider than at any point in modern history.
Long term implications
She added: “This drop has long term implications for Wales.”
“The industries that will drive our economic growth in the decades to come rely heavily on graduates. But it’s not just our economy and public services but also for the people who would benefit from the transformative experience of higher education.
“We will continue to work with Welsh Government and Medr, raising these concerns and making the case for participation to be a key priority.
‘Elsewhere in the data, it is reassuring to see Wales continue to be a popular destination for students, with Welsh universities seeing the biggest increase in applications in the UK.
“This includes being the only part of the UK to see an increase in undergraduate international applications.”
Conversely, according to data released from UCAS today, applications to Welsh universities have increased 3.05% this year, the largest increase of any part of the UK.
Welsh Government Response
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We are aware of the decrease in the number of 18-year-olds in Wales applying to university and are focused on understanding what we can do to further increase participation.
“This issue is broader than higher education, and we are analysing participation rates and will draw upon external expertise and evidence in our policy response. The Cabinet Secretary for Education will provide an update on this in the Autumn.”
Referring to the rise in students attending Welsh universities, the spokesperson added: “We will continue to promote participation and the great learning opportunities Welsh Universities can offer Welsh learners
“It is heartening to see an increase in the number of international and UK based applicants to Welsh universities.
“This demonstrates the confidence prospective students have in the quality of Welsh higher education institutions.
Disappointing
Plaid Cymru’s Education spokesperson, Cefin Campbell MS, said: “It is disappointing to see this dramatic drop in university applications from students in Wales.
“Over two decades, the gap between UK and Welsh application rates has jumped from 0.8% to 8.1%, and the overall number of applications is at a historic low. This is yet another blow to our higher education sector which is facing challenges on all fronts.
“Alongside cuts of millions of pounds in funding from Welsh Government, our higher education institutions need more support than ever to fulfil their potential to help drive economic growth in Wales.
“Urgent action is required from Welsh Government to reverse this decline and encourage more students from Wales to apply to universities, and especially universities in Wales.
“Just last week, I questioned the Cabinet Secretary for Education on how she intends to provide proper support to our Universities. Her answers were not good enough then, and the question therefore remains – is it the Welsh government’s policy to let our higher education sector wither, or will they finally step in and support this sector in crisis?”
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The huge debt attached to a university education today in Wales has to be a factor in lower applications. UK higher education is the most expensive in the world while Welsh universities still plead poverty. Cardiff is swamped by students, pushing up rents and none of them pay council tax.
Its difficult to quantify the benefit of a university education to prosperity in Wales as there are so few post graduate opportunities here.
This narrative is putting politics before young people. The debt isn’t a debt in the traditional sense, it’s a de facto graduate tax. Rather than scaring kids with huge numbers it should be made clear that it’s collected as an extra tax only when they earn above a certain amount and it’s wiped clean after a certain period of time. That way they can weigh up the extra tax against the extra earning capability a degree might offer.
8% compounded puts your spin in cloud cuckoo land. A debt that just grows and grows. Savagely commercial. No wipe out for decades. Who wants such a noose?
You’re missing the point. Don’t see it as a debt but a fixed tax.
Here’s an example from gov.uk:
You’re on Plan 1 and have an income of £33,000 a year, meaning you get paid £2,750 each month.
Calculation:
£2,750 – £2,082 (your income minus the Plan 1 threshold) = £668
9% of £668 = £60.12
This means the amount you’d repay each month would be £60.
YOU are missing the point – even if you pay £60 a month the DEBT GROWS. The interest on 1 year’s tuition fee is £60 per month alone – let alone no capital repayment. Its an absolute noose around people’s neck. People aren’t paying down these loans and the debt grows monthly as the interest is compounded. Honest to God its like Wonga Loansharks – if this was consumer regulated finance it wouldn’t be allowed as its unethical to sell someone a financial product that they cant pay off and so the interest and debt just grows. I was shocked… Read more »
No. If you pay £60 a month and the debt is never cleared then you just pay £60 a month until it’s written off. Unlike real debts if you are out of work you don’t have to pay.
It doesn’t matter that the underlying debt is increasing because it won’t affect your repayments.. Again, totally unlike any other debt.
It’s a graduate tax in all but name. A cynic might suggest this is a scheme to frighten the not very bright off university.
Personally I think there should be a return to the old system where university might be for a minority, but so long as the principle remains that all those who can benefit can access it, with tuition fees paid and a subsistence grant paid. The principle was always the sound one that eventually graduates usually get paid more, and therefore pay more in taxes, similar to those who train for a skilled trade. The false value hierarchy between the academic and practical needs to be abolished, and the polytechnic system re-established – and also the University of Wales, whilst we’re… Read more »
Student debt repaid at sn interest rest higher than inflation. Getting 18 year old young people into huge amount of debt for the privilege of studying and benefitting the economy- and expecting them to repay for 40 years is scandalous. No wonder many young people are choosing a different route into work that does not expect them yo take debt.
It’s a graduate tax. What you pay is proportional to your earnings not the outstanding debt. If you don’t earn enough or aren’t working you don’t pay it. If you haven’t paid it back after a fixed time it’s wiped so it doesn’t matter if it grows. The only reason they don’t sell it like this is to stop everyone just maxing out their student loans. And presumably your degree has boosted your earnings so you’re still much between off paying the de facto graduate tax.
If you’re studying a solid STEM degree then university’s fine. However, with the avalanche of know-nothing degrees, usually ending in the word ‘studies’, most universities have now morphed into a gravy train for pseudo-academics and act like madrasa for wokery. For the princely sun of £40K it’s now possible to attend university for three years and emerge more stupid than when you arrived. It’s heartening that young people’s eyes are opening up to the scam. Get yourself a marketable skill instead.
I note that the current Danish prime minister holds a master’s degree in African Studies. Would you consider that a “know nothing” qualification? It didn’t stop Mette Frederiksen from rising to the top in politics!
I would, yes. I doubt very much that his academic prowess in African Studies has much to do with his rise tow power.
Mette Frederiksen is a woman! You’ve just outed yourself as a bit of a dunce with your comment, and singularly failed in your basic fact checking. Pretty much the foundation of any academic rigour.
TBH Padi – I couldn’t be bothered.
“..madrasa for wokery.” Now that made me laugh. Back in the real world young people are waking up to STEM and similar strands of study. Apprenticeships are an attractive route as they offer on the job training blended with academic education all funded by employers who also pay a modest salary which helps with living costs. Wales needs more of this type of development activity. Instead of pi**ing into the wind of near-useless degrees our government should improve aid to those organisations that are offering such programmes of education and training. These need not be just in the industrial/ commercial… Read more »
You seem to be confused by what a degree actually is. Except for law and medicine it’s not a vocational qualification. Most grads go on to careers completely unrelated to their study but still draw on their university education whenever they write reports, give presentations or understand new concepts to a high level. The main point of a degree for most employers is proving you can survive a degree.
Maybe you’re thinking about NVQ’s?
I graduated with an MSc (distinction) at the age of 55 so I’d say I understand just fine. However, I’m not sure you’re abreast of just how bad university education has become.
Many of us are acutely aware of the situation regarding higher education, and part of that is the insane change that Blair’s edict of 50% of all school leavers going on to higher education. Nothing wrong with that as an aim, but university isn’t necessarily the way to achieve that, and nor was the wholesale abolition of the polytechnic sector due to the misplaced notion and snobbery of the academic hierarchy that deemed universities superior institutions. Did we really need to know that you obtained a distinction in your exams? Such gradations beyond a pass are there merely to impress… Read more »
I felt it was relevant Padi – and I get to choose the words I use. If you didn’t that’s your business.
To be fair, most employers look for people with a degree because they want to employ people like themselves. It’s not about ability, but they just convince themselves that it is…
Universities are places where students regardless of which degree they study are exposed to different ideas, encouraged to think critically, solve problems, and value different cultures. With the likes of Trump in America and endless fake news we need university graduates more than ever.
That’s the advertising blurb – the reality is quite different I’m afraid.
I completely agree with you, and once upon a time universities could be relied upon to turn out people with critical thinking skills, but so often nowadays students are being sold a pup. Not because the academic staff are no good, (though they are likely unable to give their best if they are on a zero hour contract with no job security whatsoever) but mainly because the university system has become about bums on seats, which has led to a proliferation of courses that would be better as apprenticeships rather than academic study. Not to disparage the courses, but subjects… Read more »
Careful – we might agree on something!
Has the person writing this comment graduated from a university? Going to university isn’t a scam, it is a great opportunity to develop as a person and become an active member of society, helping the economy to grow.
So is going to work…
The Welsh Government response is incorrect, it is not a drop from Welsh students to study in Wales it is a drop from Welsh students to study anywhere.
Ah, they’ve amended their response. Nevermind.
There has be a far greater emphasis on a supply line from our schools and colleges to our universities. Serious financial inducements need to come into this. Welsh students should not have to pay for their degrees, or at the least they should have vastly reduced fees. You would then build up an indigenous knowledge base, which will greatly benefit our industries and businesses.
Are you implying it’ll be free as long as they remain in Wales and repayable if not? Otherwise what’s to stop a young person going elsewhere after their free degree without contributing to the indigenous knowledge base?
The reality is that they can go and study in a multiplicity of European universities without paying a penny in tuition fees, even as foreign students and many of the courses are taught in English. Okay, there is the need to find subsistence funding, but there are always ways as a young person to deal with that obstacle.
They’ve probably woken up to the ridiculous fees and the ideology being forced upon students!
Apprenticeships over more practical real life skills and a stronger chance of a job at the end.
What ideology? Please enlighten us.
The clue was ‘thought madrassas’ earlier… There is only ONE correct way to think per topic in Universities these days. I am really unsure if they teach people how to think over WHAT to think. I have spent a lot of time encouraging critical thinking at home for my kids simply to unpick the prescribed institution opinion given as facts to them. If their opinion differs from the tribal set one then they must not feel silenced. They need to make up their own mind on stuff not be lambs shuffled to the left with the herd. Its worked too.
Well, hasn’t Wales long serviced foreign elites first and foremost?! The fact that we offer courses that will not lead to a job within Wales shows exactly this. It’s absurd that we are in part paying for people’s education and it never benefits our country.
The biggest problem was, (call me) Tony Blair said he wanted over a half of young people to have a degree and they would all earn an above average salary!!!
Biggest lie in decades.
At least Wales is finally doing something right. The drive to push youngsters into higher education has benefited nobody but the universities.