strangers in the queue for the bus don't count Brian - they're just nodding politely and edging away.

Nobody on here is for one moment condoning the violent actions of the few. The riots make the press but you can be sure that the vast majority of students and education professionals who were peacefully protesting yesterday are as dismayed by the violence as anyone else - it detracts from the very valid protest that is being made in relation to the increase in fees.

Your argument that just becasue when you were a young man very few people went to university and so it shoudl remain is so meaningless as to be silly and I'd be interested to know what you mean by "Mickey Mouse" courses.

Funding for the teaching of humanites and pure science degrees is being cut by something in the region of 80%. Do you consider English, History and languages to be Mickey Mouse degrees? What about Biology or Chemistry?

It is important that the workforce has a balance of people from all sorts of educational backgrounds - someone with a degree in English or Politics may bring a different way of thinking to the table than someone with a law degree or a maths degree. If we cut off the humanities and pure sciences in favour of "vocational" degrees we will be a much poorer society as a result (and I don't mean financially).

We will produce a generation of students who will expect to be spoonfed (and will expect a 2.1!) just becasue they're "paying for it". I already notice this in my job with some of the new recruits who are fresh out of university - they want the answer without having to do the research - it makes my life that bit harder when I have to explain to them that if they want to succeed in this career, I expect them to at least have the gumption to try to find the answer (even if they fail) before coming to me - I would be doing them a massive disservice if I said anything else to them. And I have to say, it is invariably with the graduates who did a career specific degree that I have to have a quiet chat - the humanities and science graduates expect to have to try to find the answer for themselves.