Fighting for a Fairer Funding System
Variable fees represent the biggest threat to our Higher Education system that we have ever faced. Student debt is at record levels, the student support system is riddled with complexity and inequality and the chaos of the market is forcing course closures and cuts in funding for adult learners.
Some vice-chancellors believe the 2009 review will pave the way for them to lift the cap. We must seize on this opportunity to demand a fairer funding system, grants that cover living costs and an end to the injustices faced by part-time, mature, postgraduate and international students.
As National President, I will combine mass campaigning and activity with a carefully coordinated lobbying effort to win for students in 2009.
I will:
• Develop alternative proposals to the government’s elitist, market-driven funding system in consultation with students’ unions
• Fight for grants that cover living costs and a national student bursary scheme – support based on what you need, not where you study
• Demand an end to up-front fees for part-time students and increased student support
• Re-launch a broad coalition of students, lecturers, trade unionists and political parties and create a War Chest to fundraise for the largest campaign that NUS has ever led
• Organise a national demonstration before any vote in Parliament, alongside mass campus action, major town hall-style debates across university towns and cities