Stephanie Smith: A degree of political neglect as students face up to debt

These talks are happening up and down the country right now, as stressed, brain-addled sixth-formers take time out from revision (A and AS exams start in May), and trudge back into the school they escaped from all of three hours ago while trying not to look overly embarrassed about sitting with Mum and Dad, praying that their parent is not the one who asks the stupid question. Or any question.

It’s all provisional, of course, applying to university. A would-be undergraduate can find the perfect course at the uni of his or her dreams, but there is no guarantee that they will be offered a place. And have you seen the grades universities are asking for these days? Not just for future brain surgeons and rocket scientists either.

But this year, thanks to a General Election in which they have no vote, there are even more provisional and uncertain elements for 17-year-olds to consider, in particular tuition fees, which currently stand at up to £9,000 a year (although there’s no “up to” about it; they are £9,000 a year). Labour has pledged to reduce them to £6,000 a year, giving an average debt of £18,000 to add to a living maintenance debt of perhaps £17,000, meaning that graduates would leave university about £35,000 in debt – admittedly slightly less alarming that the £44,000 it currently stands at (before they’ve found a job, a home, or even a half-decent suit). With time and interest, it’s estimated that today’s students will repay an average total of around £67,000, many still making payments into their 50s.

From my experience, today’s teenagers tend to be money-savvy and thoughtful, and I know some capable young people, friends of my children, who are choosing not to go chiefly because they believe it would place an unacceptable financial burden on themselves and their parents.

What say the other parties on the matter? The Lib Dems are offering the guilty promise of a higher education finance review, the Tories aren’t saying anything much, from what I can tell, about tuition fees or student debts, and Ukip seems to believe some degrees are more worthy than others, proposing waiving tuition fees for science, technology, engineering, maths and medical students (known as STEMM subjects, apparently, which does rather suggest that other degrees are peripheral, and maybe a bit useless).

The Greens, however, pledge to abolish tuition fees, cancel student debts and extend free public transport to students and young people. Now you’re talking, or rather they are, and many students do seem to be listening. My son reckons the Greens are the ones giving the most attention and the most understanding to his generation – although he’s not sure he would actually vote for them.

It’s not all about university, and most parties seem to want more apprenticeships, so if my son chooses not to get a degree, and instead starts learning a trade on the job, he could earn, as it stands, £2.73 an hour until he’s 19 and then go on to the minimum wage for … however long it takes. We were told at the school presentation that the average annual salary for non-graduates is around £13-16,000, roughly half of the average graduate salary. You do the maths.

Whether they have degrees or not, our teenagers and young people deserve more. They are ones who stand to suffer most from what some call “inter-generational theft”, which sees many of my parents’ generation now living comfortable lives on decent final salary pensions. Many pensioners will argue that they didn’t get the chance to go to university, but they worked damned hard to get where they are now and deserve every penny and concession. Plus low interest rates are crippling their savings.

What is going to be left for today’s children and young people, as they continue to pay off the debts? Not just the National Debt, but very personal, very real debts that threaten their wealth, health and happiness well into their old age? If they feel forgotten, exploited and disinherited, is it any wonder?

Yet what surprises me is that they’re not disenchanted. From my daily experience, not just of my own children but also of the many young people who come to me for work experience, most are engaged, eager, longing to study and work, wanting to make life better in the future for all ages. They are full of hope.

Still, as they start their exams, many teenagers must be wondering what it’s all for. Overall, there seems to be very little policy directly addressing them in this General Election, and yet they are the ones who, ultimately, could be affected most by the result. Hopefully, come the next election, they will be allowed to vote from the age of 16, and then maybe all the parties will pay them the attention and respect that they deserve.

Stephanie Smith is a feature writer and columnist for The Yorkshire Post. @yorkshirefashQ