England has a lot of benefits, loans, student railcards & such, but then most of the best minds ride bicycles here anyway, eccenrtics the lot of us

They must realise that any advantage they obtain from their education must be paid for and that the shop worker who for one reason or another has not had that advantage, has helped them pay for it.

The advantage they win would be payed for in the main by those in higher tax brackets than shop assistants.

As for your point about a poor shop worker who had no particular inclination or opportunity to spend time in higher education - he or she dooms his or her own children and community to the same lifestyle unless they are willing to make a small sacrifice. This sacrifice would be trifling if education was paid for from income tax, which poor people don't have to pay much of providing it's staggered to draw largely from those who earn national average or better.

So why should they pay?

To better the society that nutures us all and to return Britain to it's position of being a well-educated society. A position we ceded because we thought a booming economy would last forever and that money was more important than knowing things.

Not everyone has the same abilities and your view demeans those who choose to serve their purpose.

Whats wrong with engineering apprenticeships...

No, that's just wrong. If someone chooses to be humble and live on a meagre income a staggered income tax taking mainly from those who earn more than national average would actually help such people.

Your view dooms gifted children to the intellectual turpitude of their parents.

As for tax exiles - such things happen whatever the system. Bah! to such people, but what can you do?

Not necessarily anything, though the apprentice is at the mercy of how concientious and skilled at teaching the master (or guild or whatever) is, whereas an engineering degree is taught to a recognised national standard, with checks and balances for poor lecturers or whatever.

Sorry Dave but not all wish to aspire to higher education , its not wrong to have simple desires.
The problem for many and my daughter is one of them they have a degree but no experience and experience now is more valid than education. She works but not in science where her degree is. Degrees can give false hope to many who want to work in a certain field.

When were assembly line workers typically degree holders, Nero?

It is in the interest of any society to identify and promote (educate) its best and its brightest irrespective of their economic, social, ethnic or religious background.

It was "clear to all thinking people that the need for human drudgery, and therefore to a great extent for human inequality, had disappeared...hunger, overwork, dirt, illiteracy and disease could be eliminated within a few generations". However, since the Party wants to maintain a hierarchical society with itself on top, this real possibility of eliminating poverty and inequality is a deadly threat rather than something to be desired: "If leisure and security were enjoyed by all alike, the great mass of human beings who are normally stupefied by poverty would learn to think for themselves" - eventually sweeping away the oligarchy ruling them. "In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance."

In The Netherlands the government compensates students with an monthly "allowance", free use of public transportation and ability to take a loan with the general rules applying. Of course there are rules for the first too:

The Monthly "allowance" is based upon your level of education, whether you live at home or not, your parents income, and whether or not they are married. Also you can only apply for a limited amount of years, extended only for people who study medicines etc.

This ranks from a standard EUR72 for simple education to EUR92 for higher education with the possibility to get more depending on your situation. The catch being here; if you don't finish your higher eduction (lower eduction is free from this catch) you have to pay everything back including interest, additional charges and your use of public transportation.

You get a card that allows you to travel for free with the train*, bus and metro. You can either choose a week or weekend card. Limitations are not being able to travel for free on certain national holidays and having to pay on other excluded days, but with a 40% discount rate. If you don't finish your school you have to pay back the use of the card which amount about 1536 a year plus interest.

I never heard about other countries offering these benefits to students. So does your country do anything for their students?