This is really very tiresome semantic bullshit.
Sounds reasonable on the face of it, doesn’t it?
Addressing senior vice-chancellors, he ruled out imposing a “full-blown graduate tax” after admitting it could drive top students overseas.
Well, that’s a relief. Because punit.. oh wait..
But he said the Government was investigating the possibly of a “progressive” funding system in which students take out loans to cover higher fees – and wealthier graduates pay them back at a more expensive rate.
Analysts have suggested that graduates with the largest salaries could pay for an extra two years or face stiffer charges than those on low incomes.
What. The. Fuck?
Can someone please explain to Mr “two brains” Willets that graduates with the largest salaries ALREADY PAY THE MOST TAX…. at 40% or even 50%. They and their employers also play more National Insurance contributions.
Out of their take home pay, they will pay out more VAT, fuel tax, alcohol tax and, perish the thought that even smart people sometimes like to smoke, tobacco tax.
And, as for ‘ruling out a full-blown graduate tax’… if it looks like a graduate tax and it quacks like a graduate tax, it’s a fucking graduate tax.
The inevitable unintended consequences will depend on the small print, but consider this: In the current jobs climate, a chap could easily come to the conclusion that going back to university for the final year of a bachelors degree would open him up to punitive costs that he’d avoid by quitting, with little or no downside, when you consider how worthless most 1st degrees are these days.
He may initially find it harder to get his foot on the career ladder, but he’ll be 12-24 months ahead of the fools who stayed on and finished their course, possibly emerging with a Desmond or a Douglas.
Same shit, different puppets.
AJ
Al Jahom's Final Word 
If they made university for the educational elite (whatever their financial background) rather than try and get 100% of young people through it doing stuff like degrees in nail care then there would be fewer students which would be more affordable to fund through grants.
Amen, brother.
I’m a student now, just going into my third year. At the age of 21, I’ll be 22,000 in debt, with few job prospects due to the economic climate and few employers really giving a shit about degree’s anymore. How is a higher tuition fee going to help anyone in the slightest? Students will be put off university, graduates will be unable to get a house or find work due to an appaling credit rating and if they do start work, they’ll be taxed so hard they wont be able to breathe. If they want to uphold a standard of excellence, they need to stop Universities using the money on bollocks like student card designs and new bars, and spend it on actual tuition instead.