TIGA, the trade association representing the UK video games industry, said today that the UK has a first class higher education system that makes a vital contribution to our economy and to education and training. TIGA stated that UK higher education must be adequately funded to ensure that it remains world leading, whilst ensuring accessibility for students, particularly from less well-off backgrounds.
TIGA also suggested that the Government should consider incentivising the study of certain subjects via lower tuition fees if there is evidence of a shortage of graduates in such disciplines. TIGA made the comments in response to the Prime Minister’s launch of an independent review of higher education funding.[1]
The Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Theresa May MP, called for better value for students in England, admitting they face “one of the most expensive systems of university tuition in the world”. The Prime Minister also urged people to “throw away” the “outdated attitude” that university is the only desirable route for young people and that going into vocational training “is something for other people’s children”. She called for parity between academic and technical routes so we can “create a system of tertiary education that works for all our young people”.
Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon Damian Hinds MP, said he wants “more variety” in the level of fees, rather than almost all courses and universities charging the maximum amount.
TIGA has long called for the Government to consider lowering tuition fees in priority undergraduate subject areas such as STEM courses if there is evidence of a shortage of graduates in such disciplines. This policy could incentivize more prospective students to apply.
Dr Richard Wilson OBE, Chief Executive Officer of TIGA, said:
“The UK has a first class higher education system that makes a vital contribution to our economy and to education and training. UK higher education must be adequately funded to ensure that it remains world leading, and we must ensure accessibility of higher education for students, particularly from less well-off backgrounds.
“The Government should consider incentivising the study of certain subjects via lower tuition fees if there is evidence of a shortage of graduates in such disciplines. For instance, the games industry has experienced skills shortages, particularly in computer programming. Our industry depends on the skills of our workers to compete globally and as our industry continues to grow, we will need more highly skilled graduates. We want to see the industry continue to produce the ground-breaking games that makes us a UK success story.
“Many industries will support the objective of achieving parity of esteem between vocational and academic qualifications and pathways. One of the keys to achieving this goal is to ensure that vocational qualifications unlock the door to higher education. It is important that the new T Levels and existing high quality vocational qualifications enable students to progress to higher educational qualifications. We also need to develop more high quality vocational qualifications that are equivalent to degrees to do give students more choices in post-18 education.”