No you can't get in without passing here either. But you can pay for the BEST education and I think that's fair. And I'm poor as **** and think it's fair, so... still not seeing the problem with this. Uni's are largely private institutions here so why rely on Government backing ie subsidised uni fees?

oh god me too. i get drunk with one of mine.
and another gave me an Orla Kiely top last week.

I dunno, I just feel like there is something wrong with a system which will put the best education out of the reach of people who can't afford the fees/can't get the loans/are concerned about debt/have religious objections to money-lending (for example in Islam interest rates are a big no-no). It will mean that children from less well-off backgrounds will be encouraged to go to cheaper institutions rather than the ones they are most capable of attending.

Its all to do with attitudes really. Most people can see the benefits of a good uni education etc but if you aren't from a family of university attenders and you are brought up debt-phobic (my mother always drilled into me that being in debt was the worst possible situation you could ever be in and we were well-off), you might end up thinking all unis are the same and the cheaper the better. I do this voluntary project for children from schools with weak 6th forms who want to go to university and they are gob-smackingly ill-informed at times.

Don't your uni's have scholarships? Ours do. Probably why I don't see a problem with it. The under-privilaged can apply for a scholarship and they generally get them too, if they're smart and driven enough.

I personally don't think that Governments should fund uni places in any countries. They never used to. But. They should continue to fund skilled training at technical/vocational institutions.

How is demanding entry on merit more elitist than saying those who can afford to buy their way in get first dibs?

Our country, and by extension our education system, is supposed to be a ****ing meritocracy. Whether it is or not with private education etc is another matter, but the academic entry criteria should be pretty much the only area on which you are judged and if you meet them you should be entitled to attend the course regardless of your ability to pay. Otherwise the rich end up monopolising university places which is a) unfair and b) leads to stagnation. Scholarships don't fix the problem - there are not enough of them, competition is fierce and people can't rely them for funding before they apply and they don't even go to the most needy (talking as someone who received one for my MA, and really didn't need it).

Our government have a long standing tradition of funding education in this country, so I'm not sure where you've pulled the idea that the govt never used to fund university from? (especially as this is regarding UK unis) - most of our MPs never had to pay towards their education at all.