Image: UK Parliament [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Graduates in areas with skills shortages should have debt written off, suggests Conservative politician
The Westminster government should introduce a bill that would write off tuition fee debt for students who graduate and then work in areas with a skills shortage, a Conservative MP has proposed.
Introducing a so-called ‘ten minute rule’ bill in the House of Commons on 27 February, Lia Nici said the Department for Education should introduce a “British GradForce agreement”, based on an armed forces system that forgives scholarships and bursaries provided recruits serve for an agreed time.
While Nici’s bill was accepted by Parliament and could theoretically lead to legislation, such bills do not tend to come to fruition. However, the government will now consider the proposal.
“The government should use their published skills shortage research to create a public sector graduate skills shortage list, so that public sector employers could accredit courses that are directly linked to skills shortages in particular roles,” Nici said, although she did not specify which areas could be included.
“Students applying for, and then starting to study on, the relevant courses could opt to sign an agreement, in which they commit themselves to completing their studies to the required employment standards, and to working in the relevant sector for the specified timescale appropriate to their course,” Nici added.
Differentiating the funding model for those degrees in areas of skills shortage “could have a positive and pivotal effect on the higher education sector”, she added.
“They could encourage students to choose the courses that the country needs, reduce the debt burden of those students, be a better deal for the taxpayer, and help to improve growth and productivity.”
No other speakers contributed to the debate.