EMA to be scrapped

[truman]

all in all though i see the government just hitting youngest generation and thats not right me for one cant go to uni if the prices rise to 9,000 and i bet many more feel the same way, decreasing the amount of highly qualified people to do the highly demanding jobs in the future.

 

Why would a higher loan stop you from going to uni...? If a degree won't enable you to earn a high enough salary to pay it off then maybe you shouldn't be going anyway?"Highly qualified people" in "highly demanding jobs" get high wages..... Of course if someone's only doing "meeja studies" then maybe they ought to give it a second thought...

Edited January 19, 2011 by truman

[Jessica23]

Did you hear the interview with the girl who when asked what she spends the money on said, food, books and cloths as she doesn't like to ask her parents for money

 

We are raising a generation that thinks its entitled to free hand outs!

 

Yes. I also heard her say that her parents couldn't afford to give her money.

 

I think anything that helps students NOT have to work to fund their education is a good thing, and I'm speaking as someone who worked throughout my A levels and two different degrees.

 

Full-time education and a part-time job at the same time is tough.

[Rupert_Baehr]

Did you hear the interview with the girl who when asked what she spends the money on said, food, books and cloths as she doesn't like to ask her parents for money

 

We are raising a generation that thinks its entitled to free hand outs!

 

Shouldn't that read: "Adding to yet another generation which thinks it's entitled to free handouts?" There are already many people who seem to be quite happy to live off the state as their parents and grandparents before them did.

 

serapis, there are some people who don't like asking family or friends for money. I know I don't. Fortunately, I'm lucky enough to be in work, so I don't usually have to ask, but I know that even if I need to borrow a little bit of money for bus fare or something, I feel awkward.

Not necessarily a generation that demands handouts, maybe her parents require she pays the money back when she has it, and so is being sensible, and wants to avoid being in any sort of debt, even if it is only owing family money.

 

Where do you think the money to pay EMA comes from? The government doesn't have any money. It takes money from the people who work and gives it to the others.

 

No, I wouldn't. I absolutely hated being on jobseekers. Luckily, I am paying in what I took out, now. And yes, I understand that, but EMA was there to aid students in need of it, I don't agree with them spending it on alcohol, or whatever, but maybe it's the parents who need to talk to them about it, or try and prevent them from spending it unnecessarily, rather than penalising the ones who desperately need it.

 

I think you'll find that the people who work and pay money to the government, money which the government have in the past handed out to teenagers as EMA, aren't too happy about the recipients spending it on alcohol, either. Those people may not be willing to wait for the parents to talk to their offspring about how they spend the money and they're probably more than happy to see the supply of beer money cut off.

 

One poster said students need EMA to buy food at college. Have you heard of a packed lunch?

 

Perhaps the government should pay travel costs for those students who don't live near a college - but the payment should be limited to travel costs and - like MPs - the students should be obliged to justify those costs.

[sues_budgie]

Some people in life will always find excuses for their own failings, and the current education system certainly encourages this.

 

The hardworking students work there backsides off for there exam results, meanwhile the whingers and the skivers get exactly the same qualification as the college bends over backwards so they can achieve the same qualification as the students who try their hardest.

 

Here is an example (be aware, this is nationwide and not just something that goes off at Sheffield College)

 

 

1) Students can resit there exams, as many times as they want - until they pass. IN one case a student took 17 attempts to pass an exam.....this student achieved the same qualification as someone who needed one attempt.

 

2) Students can pick and choose which day they sit there exam.....don't want to do Friday? no problem, just come back on Tuesday..........can't do Tuesday, come back on Wednesday etc.....you couldn't get out of bed.....We can set you up on the 12th to sit.

 

3) Students can arrive at whatever time they wish to sit there exam.

 

4) Don't mention facebook

 

5) Not forgetting the students who cannot remember there passwords to get onto the college system after being told for the 532nd time. Oddly, they always seem to remember there passwords for facebook

 

6) The coursework/courses has been dumbed down to an embarrasing level, to improve the pass marks - same as school

 

7) Thanks to the funding that is given to additional support ( believe me, this is an absolute goldmine in terms of additional funding) you would not believe the conditions these students have...........for example

 

 

YOu have the usual suspects

 

ADHD

Dyslexia

Dyspraxia etc.......

 

And in addition to these you have other very odd conditions such as....

 

jhhggbbv - this means the student has trouble getting out of bed, and so is likely to be late for class.

 

So on a Class Register you could get your students, and each student has a list of conditions as long as your arm, ie

 

Fred Bloggs - ADHD, DXP, DYS, TGR, UYT, EWW, OOO, POO, AWSD, VFRT

 

Some of these conditions are simply laughable.

 

SO is it any wonder that with EMA being scrapped that many kids are up in arms? On the other hand, many other students do fund there studies by doing weekend work, such as Lifeguarding, Shop Work, Match Stewards and thse kids benefit by.....

 

Meeting people

Socialising

Work Experience

Earning their own money and budgeting

Developing a work ethic....

 

Many of these kids have problems of there own, but do you think these kids (the ones who don't look for excuses) will stop studying because there is no EMA? not on your life, these kids will strive to achieve regardless of the barriers that get in the way.

 

So we scrap EMA, what will this achieve? it will be a fantastic first step to making sure only the kids who want to better themselves attend college.

 

As for the ones who will no longer attend - thats there problem. Do you think these kids (the moaners) will do anything in life until they take some resposibility and get some backbone? NO.......it is true that the education system from school to FE to Uni has created a 'woe is me' culture among many of our kids.

 

But lets be truthful, as adults working in the system we know full well that additional support is like a goldmine for Learning Instututions (schools, colleges and Uni). Is it any suprise we have so many kids with many problems?

[clairelaw123]

Some people in life will always find excuses for their own failings, and the current education system certainly encourages this.

 

The hardworking students work there backsides off for there exam results, meanwhile the whingers and the skivers get exactly the same qualification as the college bends over backwards so they can achieve the same qualification as the students who try their hardest.

 

Here is an example (be aware, this is nationwide and not just something that goes off at Sheffield College)

 

 

1) Students can resit there exams, as many times as they want - until they pass. IN one case a student took 17 attempts to pass an exam.....this student achieved the same qualification as someone who needed one attempt.

 

2) Students can pick and choose which day they sit there exam.....don't want to do Friday? no problem, just come back on Tuesday..........can't do Tuesday, come back on Wednesday etc.....you couldn't get out of bed.....We can set you up on the 12th to sit.

 

3) Students can arrive at whatever time they wish to sit there exam.

 

4) Don't mention facebook

 

5) Not forgetting the students who cannot remember there passwords to get onto the college system after being told for the 532nd time. Oddly, they always seem to remember there passwords for facebook

 

6) The coursework/courses has been dumbed down to an embarrasing level, to improve the pass marks - same as school

 

 

Where on earth do you work?

Most of these are either made up (by you) or you work somewhere that doesn't enforce rules of its own. A lot of these problems are down to the particular college, nothing to do with the students attending.

[sues_budgie]

Anyone who believes todays woes are due to the conservatives needs there head looking at. Yes, the conservatives are in office, but this has been building up for many years.

 

Not only in Education, but any Publicly Funded Organisation waste has been rampant.

 

People in positions of power have been given a blank cheque to squander and make an absolute balls up. When things go wrong, we have a restructure and get rid of a few cleaners, and redeploy some admin workers to now be cleaners.

 

The people who created the mess get away scott free to repeat the mistakes over and over again......

 

The chickens are now coming home to roost, and unless the culture of waste and mismanagement is not dealt with, then the pain of job losses will only get worse

 

So put the blame at who deserves it

[sues_budgie]

Where on earth do you work?

Most of these are either made up (by you) or you work somewhere that doesn't enforce rules of its own. A lot of these problems are down to the particular college, nothing to do with the students attending.

 

 

 

 

So its not true?

[Tradescanthia]

It simply goes on beer money, rarely goes on studying.

 

I should know, I'm a Lecturer at Sheff College.

 

Most courses simply pass the time on, until the students become pregnant by any one of a dozen fathers.

 

The Beauty Students - gobbing and swearing at the tram stops and also in the canteens

 

I take it you wont be supporting the students in their fight then ??? :hihi:

[sues_budgie]

Where on earth do you work?

Most of these are either made up (by you) or you work somewhere that doesn't enforce rules of its own. A lot of these problems are down to the particular college, nothing to do with the students attending.

 

 

 

Also, can you imagine what the impact would be on funding/pass rates if the rules were enforced?

 

Which school/college in any part of the country is not going make sure all the students/pupils pass?

 

This is not an attack on one college, this happens nationwide.

[decaff]

I'm against scrapping EMA but i'm also against students getting the £30 in their bank accounts. I know from experience (I wasn't entitled to EMA but friends were) that the money does not go on books, stationary, bus fare etc rather it goes on booze and fags in a large number of cases.

 

Instead of giving students the cash I am of the opinion that we should be giving them vouchers, bus passes etc which can only be spent in certain places.