Just over a month ago, our Prime Minister, Rt Hon Rishi Sunak, made a statement in his speech to the Conservative party conference. He said that:
“The false dream of 50 per cent of children going to university […] was one of the great mistakes of the last 30 years.”
Never mind that the 50% target he refers to relates to tertiary education, I am certain he is not alone in believing that too many people go to university. It is an argument I have heard many times throughout the two decades that I have worked in higher education policy and politics. It is often made by those who went to university themselves, and of whose children 100% participate.
Our job must be to examine the evidence. In doing so, the OECD’s Education at a Glance is one of the most useful sources available to us.
