The education secretary’s announcement on Monday that the Conservative government wants to offer less 「economically valuable」 university subjects at cheaper prices will serve only to further entrench elitism in education. As a working-class student who has battled the stigma against BTECs, I know hierarchical attitudes to qualifications exist in our schools, a condescension that is rooted in class discrimination. If this outlook were to be introduced to university as well, disadvantaged students would continue to suffer throughout their education.

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The Conservatives have been more than ready to kick the ladder out from under working-class students since they scrapped student bursaries in 2015. Vocational courses that students from poorer backgrounds are usually offered have been cut since Michael Gove deemed them 「Mickey Mouse subjects」 nearly a decade ago. Diplomas such as BTECs, of the kind that Gove condemned, are the educational equivalent of A-levels, yet there remains a stigma around them.

Despite the threat of debt and the abolition of maintenance grants, students from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely than ever to apply for higher education. But the gap between them and their more advantaged peers remains high, especially at institutions that don』t accept nontraditional qualifications.

Without the varied education pathways offered to me at school, I wouldn』t have been able to go to university. Students at less prestigious schools in poorer areas usually have fewer subject options, and are more likely to be offered BTECs. So a bias against those qualifications is a bias against the working class.

An unconventional educational pathway has led me to the same career prospects as my grammar school-educated peers

Recent research from the Sutton Trust found that high-achieving disadvantaged students are more likely to have their grades under-predicted during A-levels than their wealthier counterparts. But varied course types can be a chance to succeed nonetheless: I used them to my advantage.

I opted for BTECs at sixth form, then studied at a non-Russell group university (its slogan being 「Elite without being elitist」) and am now on a competitive masters course that accepts only 18 applicants each year, internationally. It this unconventional educational pathway that has led me to the same career prospects as my grammar school-educated peers.

Making science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (Stem) degrees more expensive is just another way in which the Conservatives will narrow education choices for disadvantaged students. Contempt for creative subjects will be increased by encouraging those who are less well-off to choose the cheaper option, keeping poorer students away from some degrees. Rather than addressing the broken funding system, they will create new problems by judging the 「economic value」 of different degrees. It’s no great leap to see graduates with more expensive degrees being more highly valued by employers, creating a self-fulfilling prophesy around which courses are perceived as being worth more, to students and society alike.

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Poorer students are more likely to apply for competitive subjects, making these proposed changes a lose-lose. If you are a poor student who opts for a creative subject, your choice is somehow lesser; but if you would like to choose a Stem subject, you might be put off doing it by the financial pressures that come with a degree that is more expensive.

The university thinktank MillionPlus has recommended the government’s review on further education should 「avoid an artificial government imposition of variable fees based on course or institution type」.

Creating variable tuition fees may seem appealing, but hidden behind the flashy announcement will be the further marginalisation of creative courses – and of disadvantaged students.

Topics

University funding

Opinion

Higher education

Conservatives

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本文來源：https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/21/working-class-student-degree-elitism-variable-tuition-fees