Many people today find that the cost of attaining a University-level education is extremely high for the students and their families. What are the causes of this situation, and how can governments, Universities and the students themselves overcome the problem?

While many young people aspire to attend University, the expense involved can be prohibitive in some cases. The causes of

this

appear to be focused on three areas, and a number of solutions

also

appear to be possible. Perhaps the major factor here is the reduction in government subsidy for University

courses

.

For instance

, in the UK,

such

courses

were virtually free to the student until recently

,

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but now

cost

around £30,000 per year.

This

pattern appears to be global, with the result that

students

and their families need to meet the costs directly. Another cause is the increasing

cost

of living in many countries, meaning that the

cost

of day to day life(

in addition

to fees) can be almost overwhelming for

students

. A

third

factor is

the

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difficulty in finding part-time work while a student is studying.

Such

work tends to be poorly paid while taking up time that

students

should use for their studies. Turning to possible solutions, an obvious step would be to restore some element of state funding to

courses

.

Although

public budgets are under pressure these days, if we took

this

step it would greatly enhance access to

courses

for people on lower incomes. A

second

remedy might be for the Universities to offer shorter

courses

, or more

courses

with an element of professionally paid work experience included. If

such

courses

were more available, it would reduce the issue of living expenses to some extent.

Finally

,

students

themselves should perhaps be more flexible in their attitude to education, and consider attending University at a later stage, or possibly only when they have accumulated sufficient funds to support themselves. In summary, the factors of funding and

cost

of living appear to be the main causes. A coordinated response by the state, the institutions and the individuals may well lessen the severity of the situation.