Students Ask: 'Is It Worth It'

With the cost of higher education rising and student debt spiralling, many students are beginning to question whether university is worth it. A recent Government survey has found over half of all students believe their academic performance was affected by increasing money worries, with one in twelve full-time students considering dropping out because of it. It is also affecting those entering high education, with a third of students basing their decisions on which university or which course, around the amount of financial support they can receive.

The research, conducted by the Institute of Employment Studies and the National Centre for Student Income and Expenditure Survey, found that in 2008, students had an average debt of £3,500 after their first year, compared with £2,400 three years earlier, with students more becoming dependent on their student loans, instead of their families, for support.

Many students are also turning to paid work to help them survive, with it representing 20 per cent of their total income. Half of part-time students and one third of full-time students believed that paid work affected their education, with three quarters saying they had less time to study.

However, David Lammy, the Minister for High Education, believes ‘‘finance should never be a barrier to good education. This is why we continue to make generous loans and grants available to students.’’

(Published in the Ghair Rhydd- 4th May 2009)

St Davids Hall Changes

The new, but unpopular plans to revamp St David’s Hall, situated in the town centre, have eventually been approved after months of negotiating. The original plans for the hall, situated behind the St David’s Centre, were blocked by the council last year, but the owners, fearing that the Hall will be overshadowed when the new St David’s 2 centre is completed, reapplied for permission for the changes to the 1980s landmark.

Originally, the designers wanted glass fins to be fitted to the front of the building, lighted by LED lights at night, but the council have tweaked the £250,000 plans to include the logo on the front and ‘‘a mirrored finish’’ to complement the big screen that is currently there.

However, the plans have come under scrutiny from many people who believe them to be irrelevant. Llanishen councillor Richard Foley, who has been fighting the plans since they were originally submitted believes that they will turn the classic hall into a ‘‘monstrosity with flashing lights’’ and considers that the plans ‘‘tacky and inappropriate’’.

Elaine Davy, from the Cardiff Civic Society, who aim to protect the city’s heritage, calls the plans ‘‘ghastly’’ and ‘‘a waste of £250,000’’. She said ‘‘dressing up something like St David’s Hall is daft. It’s a perfectly good example of 1980s architecture, and it’s a good neighbour to the listed buildings that surround it. The new St David’s 2 project doesn’t need to be liked with the hall in this naive way.’’