YES / “Thanks to a credit system and under conditions”
By Alain Trannoy, teacher-researcher at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales
The observation is clear, the expenditure on higher education per student fell by 14% between 2012 and 2021 in constant euros. Obviously, my first instinct is to say that this must change and that the State must considerably increase its public allocations in this area. However, we know that other needs are also expressed on the side of the army, the police, justice, hospitals… The list is long. Let’s not take wishful thinking and think about a new funding system for higher education that would include an increase in tuition fees.
But beware, this must however take place under several conditions. First of all, it seems to me essential to exempt scholarship students from it. Another important factor is that young people will not have to pay anything at the time of their studies, which means opening up a generous credit system for them with very favorable rates. They will only proceed to reimbursement once they have returned to working life and only if their income allows it.
Finally, there is no question that the individual effort requested is accompanied by an additional disengagement of the State. For this, I propose the installation of a new mechanism based on the creation of “higher education vouchers”. Today, we know that the ministry pays an average of 8,500 euros per student to establishments. One can imagine that a sum, fixed in the finance law, be allocated to each student. The latter will give a voucher, equivalent to this amount, to the university he will join. A good way in my opinion to avoid the continuation of the current drift. I would add that it is appropriate to increase the autonomy of universities by leaving them free to proceed or not with this increase in registration fees.
NO / “It’s up to the State to invest in higher education”
By Eric Carpano, President of Jean-Moulin Lyon III University
The pandemic has revealed the serious crisis that young people are going through and the difficulties they are currently facing. There is a paradox in wanting to respond to the question of student precariousness by increasing university registration fees. No, the studies are not free contrary to what one can sometimes hear! The share of young people who work to pay them today stands at 25%. We can speak of double jeopardy since the success rate of the latter is 40% lower than those who do not have a job in parallel with their course. These figures clearly show that scholarships are insufficient both in number and amount.
Increase student financial participation would have as a corollary to put out of service an already very weakened social elevator and to widen even more these already very strong inequalities. Not only between the students, but also between the different courses since the state grants are not the same according to the disciplinary fields; but also according to the universities, the grandes écoles and the preparatory classes. Harmonization between these different establishments would be very difficult to establish.
The real fundamental problem is that the State has not invested enough in higher education in recent years. In this area, France lags behind other major foreign systems. This is why we should launch a real marshall plan for the youth. Our common future depends on it. It is also the condition for a peaceful democracy and a society on the move at a time when we have to face major transitions. For all these reasons, granting more resources to universities and higher education seems to me to be a rational and essential choice.