Higher Education funding is one of the biggest issues facing the student movement at the moment and it is a fight that is vital for students to win if we are to stop escalating debts for graduates. MMUnion, along with NUS and many other students’ unions, is intending to lead the fight from the front and deliver a big win for students.

 

 

The government has committed to starting a wide-ranging review of the higher education funding system by the end of 2009. The main for students is that the government will lift the current cap of £3,000 for annual tuition fees to allow universities to charge much higher amounts.

 

Although the review will start this year, the Higher Education Minister David Lammy has conceded that the review will not be completed until June 2010, according to a recent Guardian report.

 

This has been seen by many as a cynical ploy by the major political parties to take the issue of Higher Education Funding off the agenda until after a general election, which must happen by May 2010. This recent development means that students must force the issue of funding up the government agenda to ensure that tuition fees are not increased at a time when levels of student debt are at an all-time high.

 

 

Yes, students can absolutely win the fight against plans to increase our tuition fees, but not without mass organisation to ensure that our voice is not easily ignored.

 

When the vote to introduce top-up fees was held in 2004, the government’s majority was reduced to just 5 votes, at a time when it had an overall majority in parliament of 160. This time, the majority of whichever party is in power when changes are proposed is much less certain, and the opportunity for the student movement to land a key win is clearly there. With excellent organisation, the right arguments and a huge amount of effort, this is a fight that we can win.

 

 

We launched our campaign this year at freshers’ fare, with over 500 students engaging in our campaign to call for a full review of the higher education funding system, rather than a review which focuses too narrowly on fees, as important as they are. The union officers were joined by NUS Vice President for Higher Education Aaron Porter, who helped us to explain the situation to students, and what they can do about it.

 

On March 3rd, we are planning to hold a debate at MMUnion about HE funding, the event is open for all to attend and will start at 6:30pm, the panel will include:

 

Aaron Porter, NUS VP Higher Education

David Saxton, MMUnion VP Education & Welfare

Lucy Powell, Parliamentary Candidate for Manchester Withington

Plus one more speaker TBC

 

This will be your opportunity to hear from people at the forefront of the debate and put your questions to the panel. Anyone is welcome and you do not have to be an MMU student to attend so feel free to bring along any friends who are interested.

 

We are also planning to attend a national lobby of parliament on March 18th, where we will talk with MPs who represent student areas in Manchester.

 

It is vital that as many students as possible write to their MP to express their feelings on the issue and challenge their MP to take action on their behalf. To find out who your MP is and how to contact them, visit www.theyworkforyou.com.

 

If you’d like help with contacting your MP or talking to them, get in touch with one of the executive officers and we will be happy to help you. For more information on the higher education funding campaign and ways to get involved, visit http://nus.org.uk/en/Campaigns/Broke-and-Broken/

 

Throughout the rest of the year we will be keeping the campaign running and holding events on a regular basis, so please keep checking the website for regular updates on our activities and to find out how to get involved.