We are paying a high price for a university education | Letters

Readers respond to an article by Zoe Williams in which she argues that university has become a scam

Having read Zoe Williams’ article on student loans ( Why has university become such a scam?, 14 September ), I went and checked my student loan statement. What a depressing read that was. I went to university in 2012 as a slightly older student, at 22. I had been to drama school before that, but decided I wasn’t cut out for the harsh reality of show business and that a law career – a barrister perhaps – was more up my street. I wanted to keep the performance element.

After one law degree totalling £56,000, a career development loan of £15,000 to cover the cost of my bar course and a £12,000 postgraduate loan to cover my legal practice course (solicitor training), my student debt remains at £70,000.

I am now a solicitor for the NHS , working four days a week to manage childcare costs. The £150 in loan repayments out of my salary each month mean very little when £1,500 is added in interest each year. That £150 could instead be going into the pocket of my landlord as he hikes the rent again or towards the high private nursery fees for my son so that I can go to work. When his time comes to consider higher education, I will very much be encouraging an alternative route. Nerys Cookson-Williams Llandogo, Monmouthshire

As the mother of a new undergraduate, the student loans farce makes me livid. With about £24bn paid out yearly and only around £5bn returned in repayments, it will never pay for itself, so why put young people through this horrific system?

More importantly, it’s working-class and middle-class young people who are affected by what has effectively become another tax – as the rich don’t need loans, they aren’t affected by it. Until this is sorted, universities will once again become inaccessible to the majority of young people. Surely free university education for all is the way forward, alongside a fresh focus on vocational training? Emily Miller Mildenhall, Suffolk

Zoe Williams is right to highlight the scandal of student debt. However, it is even more sinister when you consider the free labour propping up the NHS. Last month, after three thankless years, I finished my final 12.5-hour night shift as a student midwife. Having worked tirelessly for over 2,300 unpaid hours, I am graduating into unemployment with a £50,000 debt and a heavy heart.

Universities continue to host large cohorts of midwifery students, each paying £9,750 per year for the privilege, despite the crisis in recruitment. NHS trusts are paid to host students who work gruelling hours for no pay. This is nothing short of exploitation. Zoe Green London

I wholly agree that students are being done a huge disservice. But as an employer, I disagree with casually blaming employers for the drop in graduate jobs. First, the economy is in the doldrums and the cost of employment has risen. With low growth the default, when national insurance goes up it directly hits our margins and reduces the amount of new starters we can afford to take on or pay rises we can afford.

The courses that students pay a fortune for are also a problem. As a digital marketing employer, digital marketing degrees are not desirable. An education system that delivers more capable staff, or incentivises employers to provide them with meaningful training, would do wonders for graduate recruitment. Name and address supplied

With regard to the unfairness heaped on today’s graduates, there is a simple answer out there – a (smaller) graduate tax on all graduates. If all graduates are asked to share the burden, the marginal tax rate could fall to 3% or 4%. Most, if not all, those currently paying student loans would favour it (with the option of staying on the current plan to anyone who has repaid in full or is about to), and it would be likely to appeal to many older graduates with children or grandchildren caught up in the current system.

Anyone who says this is impractical because there is no list of all graduates is being disingenuous. The Student Loans Company has lists of all graduates since 1998; a tick box on self-assessment forms would cover millions more, and asking employees to self-declare via their employer’s PAYE scheme would do likewise. Sufficient penalty deterrents could mop up most of the remainder. Given current funding solutions for higher education are generally considered a mess by all interested parties, I’m surprised that this hasn’t been given wider consideration. Alan Terry Exeter