This article advocates an option in the USI funding preferendum. To vote in the preferendum, go to www.usi.ie
Cormac Shine
A graduate tax perhaps achieves the best balance between the availability of higher education for all and how to pay for it in a fair and effective way without putting too much pressure on government.
If we considers the other options, a graduate tax is at least the “least worst” possibility. Fees aren’t equitable and exclude many without the means to pay from attending college; even if means-tested, fees will be based on the income of a students’ parents, while the graduate tax will be based on the income of the graduate themselves.
Exchequer funding is expensive and unsustainable for the Irish government, now more than ever. The current system of student contributions is not fair in that, again, students of lesser means are paying proportionally more; as the registration fee has risen year after year, many students have been forced to de-register as the cost of third-level education rises beyond their reach.
Of course, all students would love free university tuition in a perfect world, and a graduate tax moves some way toward this by providing a level playing field, with fees being paid off after graduation at a proportional rate.
We have to be realistic about completely free tuition. Free education, or even the existing “free” system, registration fees and all, at third level is unsustainable.
A graduate tax goes some way towards finding the balance between giving everyone the opportunity to go to college and also finding a way to foot the bill. It’s equitable, and more importantly, it’s realistic. Graduates would pay a fixed percentage of their salary for a fixed amount of time after leaving college, and after this time has ended, their education has been paid for, regardless of whether this amount has fallen short of or exceeded the costs incurred. While in college, their tuition is free and so there are no barriers to entry because of income.
This system is preferable to a student loan scheme because it doesn’t place a burden on a graduate for years afterward. If they are unemployed for a time, there won’t be the added pressure of meeting personal loan repayments, keeping their credit worthiness intact.
Indeed, a number of private sector companies in South America and elsewhere such as Lumni have developed a similar model, in which investors buy an “equity stake” in a student’s future (a more positive spin on the graduate tax moniker). The Irish government should learn from these innovations and provide them as a public service.
Finally, the graduate tax is a good option because it means the government and the graduate will be striving for common goals. It’s in everyone’s interest that the graduate earns the highest possible salary and doesn’t end up in the dole queues, and the government will have to ensure that emigration is minimised in order to maximise gains from the tax.
Overall, the graduate tax is a pragmatic and fair solution, halfway between the idealistic notion of free third level education and an unfair fee-paying system.
