The Cult of Univeristy, Ctd One in ten school leavers went to university 30 years ago; now almost half do

Jenni Russell wrote an article in The Times here, 'New graduates - just do the maths and weep' and said:

"Only one in ten school leavers went to university 30 years ago; now almost half do. New research by Malcolm Brynin at Essex University confirms that the graduate premium is declining. It fell by almost a third in the 15 years after 1993. The reward for being a graduate has dropped away, but paradoxically more employers are demanding graduate qualifications. A degree is now a necessity if you hope to avoid a badly paid job, but it no longer guarantees a well paid one."

On Northern Ireland, Patrick Murphy cut through the euphemism and obfuscation when he said in The Irish News that:

"[Northern Ireland universities are not remotely close to being the best in Ireland, never mind the world."

In February 2013 we heard that record numbers applied to universities in Northern Ireland, see here. In December 2013 we heard that a record number of students started university in Northern Ireland, see here.

I wrote here that Northern Ireland needs more female entrepreneurs after the Harvard Business Review reported that, "The single greatest point of untapped leverage in the world is a woman who could be an entrepreneur." The CIPD warned Northern Ireland Business here to use top female talent or lose it. I talked about the need for more entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland on Slugger O'Toole here.

Previous posts in The Cult of University series here, here, here, here, here and here. On the University Neurosis here. On The Legally Blonde complex here and here. My piece in the Huffington Post here. My blog post on YouGov who found that employers have found graduates non-work ready here. My blog post here where a Sunday Times poll found that students are critical of university teaching standard and that universities are more interested in research than teaching students.