Returning to the island...

I strongly believe Guernsey needs to encourage students to leave the island and study at University, and I think the introduction of student contributions/student loans is a Bad Thing.

Just picking up on one point...it's clearly important to the argument for supporting students that some students at least do return to the island to work - if the returning percentage is zero it's pretty difficult to make the case! However:

• The impression I get is that a pretty good proportion of students to return to Guernsey immediately after graduation, and that this number might have increased in recent years.
  
• It's definitely the case that more return after working away for a few years - this is worth remembering...I also think these returnees bring some very useful additional benefits to the island in terms of experience of the broader working world.
  
• I believe reasonable access to tertiary education is something of a
  human right, and if some students want to pursue their careers outside
  Guernsey I have no problem with it. It's worth noting in this context that Guernsey benefits enormously from imports (whether via marriage to local people or housing licences) to whose university education we did not contribute a penny. It has to be expected that not all locally supported students will return to work here...but this is the same for UK local authorities funding their students as it is for Guernsey, as it is for everywhere in these increasingly global times.