University education is measurable in more than just graduate debt | Letters

Aditya Chakrabortty is playing fast and loose with the lives of millions of students and potential students (What the great degree rip-off means for graduates: low pay and high debt, 19 April). His major animus is turned against David Willetts, but as a former Labour higher education minister and now university vice-chancellor, I equally take strong issue with his argument: in brief, that there is a grand conspiracy between the government and vice-chancellors to mis-sell students higher education courses.

Firstly, we need to deal with this misnomer of graduate debt. You only repay if you are in work and earning over 21,000 a year, and if you have not repaid after 30 years the debt is written off. If you were to advertise those terms on the high street, people would rush to sign up. With this financial package, recruitment to university has risen across the board, and fastest among students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.