Blog: Don't want to pay for university? Don't go then

I am sure future students across Shropshire are furious at the thought of having to fork out up to £9,000 a year to go to university but there is one way of getting out of it - don't go writes Jason Lavan.

I spent six years at university both in Ireland, where fees were minimal at the time, and here in England.

Although my debt is small, I took the decision to go to university and pay my way through it so that I could earn a better wage in the long run.

I do not believe people who opt for the workforce should have to pay for me to go to university.

I heard many students on the news saying that education is a right and not a privilege.

I agree with this, but rights also include eating, shelter and clothing and we have to pay for those too.

If you are still not convinced that students should have to pay their way, just look at the jobs section in the Guardian newspaper and compare the salaries for the jobs requiring a degree and those without.

It is there, in black and white.

People with a third level education behind them generally earn more dosh, so why should taxpayers who otherwise start work after school pay for us to go to uni and earn more money than them in the long run?

The row over the Liberal Democrats pledging one thing, while standing in the murky fields of opposition, and then delivering another, when lounging the in strawberry fields of power, is quite disgraceful.

But that is no argument for students not to pay their way and I am sure the Lib Dems will pay a hefty price at the polls for it next time round.

I sympathise with students who had aspirations of uni and believed it was not going to cost them dearly, but this is the price which has to be paid when the economy crashes.

And it is not just English students being hit hard, the Irish budget was held yesterday (TUE) and students there were hit with a hike in fees of €500 a year to €2,000.

I should point out there are also ways that students can help themselves in the long run.

While studying in England it amazed me how many students took out huge loans and overdrafts to cover the cost of rent and living, and by the latter I mean funding a fair few nights out on the tiles.

I chose not to do any of that and held two part-time jobs which paid for my rent and a few bottles of cheap plonk each week.

As I mentioned, my debt is low, but it could have been a lot higher had I chosen to go down the route of borrowing to pay for a particular lifestyle during university.

While I know all too well that students love a good old fashioned bottle throwing fest, while trying to steal a police officer's badge to hang up beside the stolen traffic cones in their lounge, it must not be forgotten there are more pressing issues facing the wider public purse than that of tuition fees.

It is a sad reality in this climate that students will not be afforded the free-for-all of the past, and while university is not a privilege, it is a choice.