It would seem that more and more students are  not getting places in University.  In fact there are over 600,000 students applying for university and its estimated that approximately 170,000 of them wont get a place.  This does seem to be quite a lot.  The BBC reported : “”Those people will displace some from the job market or will have to find something to do for the year and try again next year. Some may have their hopes and aspirations dashed for a lifetime. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8228126.stm)

WHAT RUBBISH!!!

Ok, got that out of my system, now let me explain.  The complaint is that student will have to get jobs!!! Dear lord in heaven how will they cope??  What amazing damage will be done to these poor innocent minds when they have to work for a year?  They might learn to get up in the morning, learn punctuality, hard work.  They may learn empathy with the working classes, social skills, the value of a hard days work and hard won pound in their pocket!!

Furthermore one wonders if they have all applied to Europe, to participate in on of the funded English taught courses offered on the continent?  If they have applied to take a year off working in the third world, or doing charity work?  Is this really should a issue?  A year spent not a university.  Then a return as a more return, well rounded individual next year, better focused and better ready.   

There are still people who go through university life without regular jobs.  Then they go into law, or politics, or teaching, or the civil service and never find out what it means to do a real job.  I fully support further and higher education, but is it really such a bad thing that a generation will understand the value of a hard days work?