Former Ofsted chief says bad degrees are 'eating up' young people's lives and many offer 'no economic return'

The former head of Ofsted has warned a 'big slice' of degree courses are 'eating up' young people's lives for 'no real benefits'.Baroness Spielman, who is now shadow minister for work and pensions, warned too many are taking degrees that do not improve life outcomes.The Tory life peer believes that while most courses do deliver value-for-money, a significant minority are providing 'no economic return'.In addition, she compared accumulating student debt to an 'enormous, threatening sword over young people's heads', and also suggested many were 'underoccupied' at university.Baroness Spielman previously became known for her no-nonsense attitude to standards when she led the education watchdog from 2017 to 2023.Her comments, made at a Tory party conference fringe event and reported by Times Higher Education magazine, come amid a row over student debt and spiralling youth unemployment.She told party activists: 'It's clear that too big a slice of degree courses essentially eat three years of a young person's productive life for no real benefits.'So we're actually short-changing them by encouraging them to do those [degrees].' The former head of Ofsted has warned a 'big slice' of degree courses are 'eating up' young people's lives for 'no real benefits' (pictured: Amanda Spielman)She referred to a 2020 report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which found 30 per cent of graduates produce 'negative total returns' from their degrees.Total returns were calculated by examining the overall earnings impact of a degree, both for the individual and the Treasury.The report also found a large number of subjects have 'negative or near-zero average total returns', including creative arts, languages, philosophy, physical sciences and biological sciences.Baroness Spielman also said many degrees were not filling students' time enough, and that often there was a shortage of part-time work to keep them occupied.'It's blindingly clear that especially in the humanities, a lot of students basically spend three years, to far too great an extent, kicking their heels, going to a few hours of lectures and classes a week, writing one essay every few weeks, but really just not doing enough and having far too much time to get bored and lonely,' she said.The peer called on policymakers to 'think quite fundamentally about the design of mass higher education'.The event, organised by the Policy Institute at King's College London, was a debate on the future of higher education.According to the latest official data, published in May, the number of young people aged 16 to 24 neither working nor learning surpassed one million for the first time since 2013, reaching 1.01 million in the three months from January to March.Meanwhile, Labour are under pressure to U-turn on a decision to freeze the earnings threshold for repayment of Plan 2 student loans for three years, which will mean many graduates paying more.Also speaking on the panel was Alison Wolf, a crossbench peer and a former prime ministerial adviser on skills.She accused the Government of an 'obsession with qualifications' due to its plans to bring in vocational GCSEs.She said: 'GCSEs in plumbing? I don't think so.'The economist argued in favour of less centralised control over skills-focused training and proposed more industry-developed teaching.A Department for Education spokesman said: 'Every young person should be able to see a route to success, whatever their talents or ambitions. Our reforms will deliver high-quality technical and vocational education and prestigious qualifications, alongside academic achievement, to give more young people the chance to leave education with the skills, confidence and opportunities they need to thrive in today's economy and the careers of the future.'University is still a good route for many and unlocks a range of careers with graduates expected to be on average around £100,000 better off over their lifetime. Graduates are also more likely to find and stay in full-time employment, and female graduates are more likely to enter full-time work.'But we know there are some courses that don't deliver the outcomes promised to students, and we're cracking down on poor quality courses.'