During my lifetime, it has always felt like governments have served the elderly at the expense of the young. The most notable example during the Conservative government was the massive increase in university tuition fees to £9,000. Meanwhile, older voters had the security of the triple lock on pensions and no shortage of policies that worked in their favour. To make matters worse, Rishi Sunak suggested during the last election campaign that national service should be compulsory for all 18-year-olds. We always seem to be either forgotten or punished.
This Government needs to turn things around. They must start by restoring some form of free movement to 18-30 year olds across Europe – a plan the Government is considering but has publicly denied supporting. They will know that by implementing this plan it will be a ray of light in dark times for many young people in the UK.
Following the UK's departure from the EU, the Erasmus+ programme was cancelled. This was a university exchange programme that gave young people the opportunity to study abroad. In 2018 alone, around 10,000 UK students spent at least two months and up to a year at an EU university as part of their studies. The scheme subsidised travel and living costs for participating students and was available to anyone wanting to gain the valuable experience of living and studying abroad.
Despite reports of European interest in restarting the Erasmus programme, Starmer’s government said this week that it has no plans to do so, ignoring both European partners and young people across the UK. The proposed alternative is the Conservative government’s Turing scheme, launched in 2021, but this is hardly an alternative. Unlike Erasmus, which is “pre-funded” in that beneficiary institutions are given a grant to cover the cost of training, the Turing scheme requires placements to be confirmed before funding applications are approved. This means that funding is not provided until the training begins, and students often have to pay part of the cost up front. This is possible for students who can afford the high fees, or can ask their parents to pay, but is out of the question for disadvantaged students who are perhaps most in need of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Given the significant decline in students learning a foreign language after age 14 in English schools, the ability to learn and become accustomed to other languages is more necessary than ever. In elementary school, students occasionally had Spanish lessons. After moving on to junior high school, they started from scratch, relearning phrases they had already learned. Meanwhile, other elementary school students were desperately trying to forget the French and German they had learned before Spanish classes became mandatory.
There is a clear lack of a national strategy to link pupils' learning in primary school with what they are taught in secondary schools. 56% of primary schools report that they have no contact with neighbouring secondary schools regarding language learning. This weakness in the UK education system shows how wonderful the reintroduction of free movement would be for pupils like me who have been so disappointed with language learning at school. Exposure to the world outside the narrow walls of England will foster enthusiasm for learning and encourage pupils to learn languages because they love it, not because they are required to by their school.
The need to engage with other cultures has become even more important since racist and Islamophobic riots broke out across the UK due to the lack of acceptance of people of different ethnicities and cultures. Perhaps this nativism could be avoided if people were given the opportunity to meet and engage with people from different backgrounds at an early age. I come from Cornwall, where young people struggle with the rising cost of living and geographical fragmentation, and the area is predominantly white. Opportunities for immersion in different cultures could counter prejudice and give hope to children who really need it. If freedom of movement is reintroduced, it could help offset some of the euroscepticism of Nigel Farage and his new political group, Reform UK.
Youth-first systems, such as free movement for 18-30 year olds, are absolutely necessary for students to thrive. By committing resources and designing policies with the country's youth in mind, governments can inspire hope and create a domino effect of positive change for a younger generation that needs investment and attention now more than ever.
