Students fight back against tuition fees

• - Week of campaigning highlights the problems debt-ridden students face
• -Students treated ‘like dirt on the floor’ complains Conservative politician

Student debt and rising tuition fees were highlighted last week when NUS campaign Town Takeover hit Manchester, with protests, a flash mob and political discussions.

With student frequently owing over £20,000 at the end of their degree, and some even more, calls for lower fees or alternative means of payment have increased in recent months, ahead of the upcoming tuition fees review.

Photo: Mike Kyle

“We already know that student debt is far too high,” said NUS President Wes Streeting at a panel debate at Manchester Town Hall. “Education should be free with graduates giving back the money once they are working. We firmly believe student support should be based on how much you need and not where you study.

“The NUS has come up with an alternative proposal- we would take the principle that graduates contribute on how much they earn, with those earning more, paying more for 25 years after they leave university. We need to eliminate the notion of market fees as they are a dangerous concept.”

Manchester Metropolitan University’s Vice-Chancellor, Kevin Bonnet, complained that students were being treated like “customers,” while Ben Jeffrey, the Conservative candidate for Cheadle, said: “the Student Loans Company treats students like dirt on the floor.”

Student protesters were likely to agree with Jeffrey’s sentiment, protesting in and around Piccadilly Gardens for their rights and drawing attention to the problems debt-ridden students face. During the flashmob, students dressed in white ran away from others whose red t-shirts represented debt, embodying the NUS’ campaign slogan ‘debt’s gonna get ya’.

University of Manchester Students’ Union Campaigns Officer Laura Williams said: “The afternoon has been wonderful and the race was amazing. Although only 50 people turned up, they had a real presence.” She admitted that reading week “affected [turnout] a bit,” with similar protests around the country having attracted hundreds of students.

Photo: Mike Kyle

A wall of debt next to the protesters showed the extent to which students at the University of Salford were in financial trouble. Students had written on cheque slips how much money they owed, with one student accumulating a staggering £35,000 of debt over a two-year study period.

Joe Kirwin, Vice President of the University of Salford Students’ Union, said: “We need to make the Government see debts as a national issue and make them act on it,” while other protesters claimed that students were in danger of being priced out of university.

16-year-old A-level student Maisie Rushman said: “This will affect us the most as we will spend the rest of our lives paying off the debt and it is not fair. It will put people off going to uni. If there was another option I wouldn’t go but I want to study Astrophysics so there’s no other way for me.”

Highlighting the main parties’ unwillingness to commit to the issue, Streeting accused prospective Conservative candidate Ben Jeffrey of “not even being able to toe his party line,” when Jeffrey commented that education should be free for students. When asked by panel chair and NUS Vice President (Higher Education) Aaron Porter whether he would be making his feelings clear to David Cameron, Jeffrey argued he would at the next opportunity.

Liberal Democrat Mark Ramsbottom suggested the Conservatives would have introduced tuition fees, but they “had no bottle.” However, he dodged whether his own party would remove tuition fees in their first term. “We will be abolishing fees but we have to acknowledge the climate now is different from 2005.”

Porter and Streeting ended the evening by commenting that they hoped the fees review is not a stitch-up between the Labour and Tory parties, both of whom are in favour of increasing tuition fees. All three major parties remained inconsistent on their policies – with no immediate change in sight.