Study in UK: Quality Education to Take Centre Stage Soon After Removal of “Rip-Off Degrees”

Rishi Sunak and the Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan recently came up with a new plan where he announced a crackdown on “rip-off” degrees. This step is for programs that are not giving a positive return in terms of career prospects. This is a positive step which has been taken by the UK prime minister.

With the help of this step, all students will be benefited as they will enrol only for the required courses. They won’t have the need to spend unnecessary amounts of money on courses that won’t give them any return.

All the courses that will be removed will include those with a high dropout rate or a lower number of students getting skilled jobs. 

Under this plan, the Office for Students (OfS) have been asked to minimise the number of students in universities that are still taking in students for low-performing courses or are giving no outcome. 

Here is a tweet by the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak which highlights his main aim.

Too many students are being sold a university education that won't get them a decent job at the end of it.

So I'm cracking down on rip-off degrees and boosting apprenticeships to ensure students get the best deal possible.

Widening access. Boosting jobs. Growing the economy.

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) July 17, 2023

What are “rip-off” degrees?

“Rip-Off” degrees are ones in which the student doesn’t get any profit after completing their degree. 

As per the Prime Minister, Sunak and the Education Minister, these courses are of “poor quality”, which have poor employment outcomes, and don’t benefit the economy. 

Further commenting on the same, the Prime Minister said, “ too many young people “are being sold a false dream and end up doing a poor quality course at the taxpayers’ expense that doesn’t offer the prospect of a decent job at the end of it”.

He also added that the cost of classroom-based foundation year courses – an additional year of study to prepare students for degrees – will also be reduced from £9,250 to £5,760.

What courses will be affected?

At the moment the government has not revealed which courses will be affected. 

However, rumours suggest that programs that come under arts and humanities will be the most affected. 

Why the “rip-off”?

The UK is home to some of the top colleges in the world, but a small percentage of the programmes offered leave students with debt and meagre salaries.

The government wants to improve the system so that it is more equitable for both them and the taxpayers, who invest heavily in higher education.

What Does Data Suggest?

According to data from the Office for Students, 15 months after graduating, over three out of ten graduates do not move on to highly skilled professions or pursue further education.

As per the Institute for Fiscal Studies, one in five graduates would have been in a better financial situation if they had not attended college.

According to data from the Office for Students, 15 months after graduating, over three out of ten graduates do not move on to highly skilled professions or pursue further education. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, one in five graduates would have been in a better financial situation if they had not attended college.

So to conclude, the government aims to produce quality education and graduates which will help in increasing the economy.

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