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Who'd want to be young?
SO some universities don't bother to read personal statements from students applying for places, eh?
Oh, and apparently A* grades are not to be trusted. On top of this A-levels are routinely denigrated.
All of which begs the question: what hope is there for our young people?
Let's not forget it has also become the fashion to regularly slag off GCSEs, claiming they are becoming so easy that anyone with half a brain cell (nay, less probably) can pass one; they're not even worth the paper they are written on.
And as lots of young people get ready to graduate this summer with their newly acquired degrees, they're told there'll be no jobs for them. Employers don't have any to offer.
Those of us who hanker after youth and wish we could turn back the clock a decade or two must be mad.
Who among us would really want to be in our late teens or early 20s again?
As a parent (and school governor) I am sick to death of our children receiving these routine batterings.
They emerge from their schools and colleges, triumphant on results' day and what do we do?
Instead of celebrating their achievements, we give them a good kicking, bleat on about how much harder it was "in my day" and then wonder why they feel like giving up.
I was told recently that at one Yorkshire university, all the computer screen-savers have been set with a message telling students that no matter what level of degree they get, the chances are they won't get a job because of the present economic crisis.
Is that any way to motivate young people?
Even Sir Alan Sugar, who has been known to enjoy a moan from time to time, has found something positive to say: "We should promote enterprise more among young people; our economic future relies on them."
Maybe the rest of us should follow his example and not be too quick to condemn.
If there's blame to be apportioned, it is with the system, not the young people themselves. Surely they deserve better.
Already there are moves for a massive hike in university fees, which is going to leave students – and their parents – wondering whether they can afford to go on and study for three or four years, if it means graduating with debts of thousands and thousands of pounds.
Education should not be elitist. It should be inclusive not exclusive. More importantly, it should be valued and valuable.
When students read about universities favouring state schools over public schools or vice versa, or that they do or do not value high grades or that they do not take into account the statements they have prepared, just what are they supposed to make of it all?
They must feel defeated before they can even dream of success.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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