In the debates on university tuition fees, raised again by Peter Scott (Let’s fight the idea that high tuition fees are inevitable, 7 October), one relevant point seems to be continually ignored or glossed over. Comparison is often made with fees in the US, and very high fees are quoted as if they were the norm there. However, these figures always relate to the well-known private universities, especially the Ivy League schools, but it would seem that a more reasonable comparison for England is with the fees charged by public universities for in-state students. These are all lower than those currently levied by any English universities, in some cases considerably so. The most expensive, such as Berkeley and UCLA charge around $12,870 [£8,000], but at Chapel Hill (North Carolina) fees are $8,340 and at the University of Florida $6,630. These are major research universities, but most states also have schools with good undergraduate and MA programmes with fees at or below $5,000 per annum.
When the issue of fees is raised, especially with respect to lifting the “cap”, the claim is often made that fees in England are low by comparable international standards, and this seems to have become received wisdom. But such assertions do not become true by dint of constant repetition. Fees in England are already as high as anywhere comparable in the world.
Professor Martin Durrell
Cheadle
• I went for a meal with a friend, where we discovered that the waitress had recently graduated with a degree in mathematics. I have met this in several other restaurants, where young people 10 times smarter than I am are serving my table.
My silly companion told me that this proved that it had always been a mistake to send so many students to university. I think it proves that we live in the most badly governed country on Earth, where a nation’s most valuable resource is deliberately discarded into a moronic private sector of dreadfully poor judgment.
The intelligence of these youngsters could resurrect the most important part of a modern economy, the public sector, driving research and analysis to higher levels, to rebuild our nation and its commerce, to civilised standards of honour, integrity and reliable erudition.
CN Westerman
Brynna, Glamorgan
