Universities minister Jo Johnson has argued, in this paper, that the university funding system is working well. After Damian Green went off script over the weekend and admitted that university funding needs reviewing, Johnson argued that the current system is both fair and effective. IFS statistics released this week, however, reveal gaping holes in this argument.

Johnson claims that the fees system actually benefits poorer students: an argument that has been repeated ad nauseam since the changes to fees in 2012. It is fantastic that more students from lower income backgrounds are attending university than ever before, but this should not be interpreted as evidence that the funding system is fair. There could be any number of reasons for the increase, not least the fact that a degree is now more necessary than ever for those seeking employment. To claim that this change is down entirely to the funding system is a shallow analysis only made to suit the arguments of those who are in favour of the higher fees.

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It has been confirmed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that the perceived benefits to the poorest students of raising tuition fees have been wiped out by recent reforms. While the fee rise in 2012 allegedly left the poorest students £1,500 better off, this has been cancelled out by increased student loan repayments. Expected repayments from the lowest-earning graduates have increased by 30% since 2012 because the student loan repayment threshold has been frozen at £21,000 instead of rising slightly each year.

While the number of university students from lower income backgrounds has increased, research released last month by the Office for Fair Access shows that the dropout figures for these students are shockingly high. The fact is that the cost of living is now so high that students often struggle to cover their living costs while at university: 67% of students work alongside their studies to fund themselves, a number which is increasing. Those who are unable to turn to their parents for extra funding are under significant pressure, and 56% say that their financial situation is affecting their grades.

Graduates are vital for a healthy society. We need to stop seeing education as something that only benefits individuals

To make things even worse for students from lower income backgrounds, the scrapping of maintenance grants in favour of loans has meant that those who need extra support to cover their living costs leave university with the highest levels of debt. The IFS report states that students from the lowest income families accrue £57,000 of debt, compared to £42,000 for their more privileged peers. Recent higher education reforms could result in these figures rising even higher. This means that even if they go into high earning jobs after graduating, they will still be worse off than their counterparts from higher income backgrounds. To claim that this system is fair is completely delusional.

The IFS report reveals another inequality, that between generations. The millennial generation will be the first on record to be worse off than their parents. IFS figures reveal that many current students will still be paying off their student debt as they enter their 50s. This is the age at which previous generations might have been paying off their mortgages. Buying a home will feel like a very distant dream to young graduates today, who enter adult life already thousands of pounds in debt. It is nothing short of insulting to hear Johnson claim that the current system works better than that which allowed him to enjoy a free education and begin his career unburdened.

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Johnson and others are keen to argue that the taxpayer should not be saddled with the cost of an individual’s education. This ignores the inconvenient fact that there is an enormous black hole in the current funding system and the taxpayer is already bailing out the government, covering the shortfall left by loans that will never be repaid.

More importantly, it is simply bizarre to view university education as a privilege that individuals should pay for. We all need people with degrees: to treat us when we are ill, to represent us internationally, to give us legal advice and to design our schools and homes. University graduates are vital for a healthy and functioning society. We need to stop viewing education as something which only benefits individuals and see it for what it is: a vital public good.

Students across the UK will be campaigning for an urgent review of higher education funding in light of the overwhelming evidence that the current system is failing. It would be a mistake for Johnson and the government to bury their heads in the sand.