Can't pay, must pay.

editorial editorial l ong ago, in a political galaxy far away, i was educated at one of the world's elite universities. neither i, nor my middle-class parents, paid a penny in upfront fees for this privilege. in fact, the state—or more precisely my local municipality—paid me a substantial 'maintenance grant' every term which covered my room in college, living expenses, books and other study essentials. i even had something left over to buy beer at the bar, a few early punk records and a basic hi-fi system on which to play them (since it was the 1970s, when things were made to last, i still have the same hi-fi system). that world is long gone, at least in my native country, though it persists up to a point in my adoptive land, Finland. university education here remains complete ly free to the 'consumer', that is, to all Eu citizens. Every school-leaver resident in the country can claim additional support from the welfare system, including a substantial study grant and housing benefit. although in sufficient to buy a car or other fashion items considered essential by today's students , it is nevertheless sufficiently generous to cover the basics. of course, all this is not really free, and is instead paid for by the taxpayer. in the uK, where taxes have been progressively reduced in accordance with a different prevailing ideology, a system modelled on that in the uSa has superseded 'free' education. Every university student in England must now pay a sizeable annual fee, covering an increasing fraction of the cost of study. as the economic crunch bites harder, these fees look set to rise to the point at which they will act as a significant deterrent to enrolment , also producing a funding shortfall in the least attractive departments. to afford university under such conditions , prospective students or their parents must either be rich, or must accumulate substantial debts to cover their fees and living expenses for 3–5 years. ironically, to rescue the state from its debt crisis, students will accumulate huge private debts, thus not only paying for their education but also subsidizing the banks that caused the crisis in the first place. the social effects of this policy will also be keenly felt. in north america, private philanthropy is well established and the top universities also enjoy a healthy investment income, enabling them to provide scholarships to …