Community: Real Life

My life, my choices


Mei Leng Yew

Mei is 18 and is spending a year being lazy, occasionally working, and definitely travelling, before uni. She alternates between working hard and intense procrastination. She's most often found in a dojang or at the ice rink.

University is meant to be best time of your life. But what if you don't want it to be? Mei believes there's more to life than a degree.

When I'm about to make a decision that is potentially one of the biggest turning points of my entire life, you'd think that decision would be mine and mine alone. In fact, the opposite is true. Schools and colleges throughout Britain seem to be obsessed with pushing every 18 year-old towards university, while the Government campaigns endlessly, preaching the attainment of a degree as the only true path to success. On top of this, families add to the pressure when pushy parents drop far-from-subtle hints about training to be a doctor or a lawyer.

With such constant bombardment of 'encouragement', it's no surprise that each year, nearly a fifth of students drop out from university, after a wasted year in a learning environment they didn't want to be in, studying a course they weren't passionate about. The true percentage of discontent students increases when you also consider those who persevere with their course, despite their misery.

I'm not attacking the traditional education system; I did an excessive amount of A-Levels and have every intention of going to university. What I don't agree with is the pressure and expectation exerted on young people by those around them; the people who claim to have our best interests at heart, but in reality are only concerned with meeting targets.

The former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, set a target of 50% of 18-30 year-olds progressing to university by 2010, but in setting this goal, blinded himself to the reality of the situation. The purpose of a degree is to provide three to four years of intensive study and to help employers distinguish between prospective candidates. If the Government meets its target, one out of every two will have a degree and employers will soon disregard them as valueless markers.

Furthermore, graduates leave with an average debt of £12,363 and this figure continues to rise each year. This means that hard-working individuals will soon lose out, graduating with a worthless degree and huge debts. Although the Russell Group  says that graduates can expect to earn an average of £160,000 more than non-graduates throughout their working life, this actually works out at only £4,000 each year over a 40-year period. Is this sum really enough to justify three hated years at university? We don't all crave flash cars and plasma screen TVs. I would happily earn a lower wage if I had a job I enjoy and a life I'd chosen for myself. Surely the direction my life takes is up to me to decide?

"Why can't we accept that an apprenticeship or a course at a beauty college is just as worthwhile as going to university? We can't all be scientists and engineers!"

Parents need to realise that they can't live out their dreams through their children; we have our own lives to lead. Over half of British parents prioritise academic options over all other available routes whilst one in ten exaggerate their children's achievements to others. They need to understand that some people just aren't suited for academia. For every 18 year-old who craves books and science laboratories, there is another who dreams of becoming a mechanic. Why can't we accept that an apprenticeship or a course at a beauty college is just as worthwhile as going to university? We can't all be scientists and engineers!

I'm not the only one who feels attitudes need to change. Tom Mursell, another 18 year-old under pressure, founded Not Going To Uni to bring young people and university alternatives together. Then there's Edge Charity, which has run a campaign challenging people to change their perceptions of vocational qualifications and practical work, particularly the people who are in a position to influence young people's choices. Schools need to realise they have a responsibility which goes beyond pressuring us into applying for university to boost their league table scores. Teachers need to stop casting reproachful eyes at 'drop outs' and start providing a support system to help us make the right choice. The choice you should have helped us make in the first place.

What's more, quitting school doesn't mean quitting education. My friend, Shona Eccleston, left college this year to work as an Induction Tutor. Although a lot of people have a fear that if you don't go to university, you won't have a future, she intends to enrol onto a business course one day. Her days of learning are by no means over yet, despite what others think.

For many, school is a cycle of memorisation and the regurgitation of bland facts. No wonder many of us want to escape the mundanity and try out the 'real world'. Parents, school and most of all, the Government, need to realise that university is not for everyone and that there is a much wider world out there. The best they can do is guide us to make the right step for ourselves, rather than pressure us into making the wrong choice, for them.

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