Last month it was revealed that as the Ucas university application service opened for 2012, applications were down by 9% on last year. Nobody is surprised of course – we can’t afford £9,000 a year fees!
Universities themselves are being forced to acknowledge this. In fact, some are considering reducing the fees they planned to charge.
And the same thing is happening to college applications now that EMA payments are gone. A whole generation is having to weigh up whether poverty while you study and crushing debt for decades afterwards is a price worth paying for further and higher education.
Youth Fight for Jobs doesn’t think anyone should have to make that choice. Education should be a right for all.
When the decisions to increase fees and scrap EMA were made last year hundreds of thousands of young people took part in a movement against this government. They broke the silence on the Con-Dem cuts and set the stage for all the protests, demonstrations and strikes we’ve seen since.
We need that fighting spirit again this year. We can force the government to retreat on fees. We can still force local councils to bring back EMA for students in their areas – it’s already happened in two London boroughs.
Students need to continue to develop their own democratic and mass movement, including building Youth Fight for Jobs and Education groups in all the colleges, sixth forms and schools as well as the universities.
On 30 November hundreds of thousands of public sector workers will be on strike to defend their pensions. Students should join them. With students joining their teachers and lecturers on the picket lines and demonstrations around the country, we could see a real shutdown of education.
The Jarrow marchers, who marched 330 miles to demand a decent future for young people, ended their five week journey with a rally of thousands in London last week. Young people are proving that we’re ready and willing to fight back. We won’t be a lost generation, fight for jobs and education!
Youth Demand a Future!
- Create jobs
- Bring back EMA & scrap fees
- Save youth services
- Scrap workfare
- Build affordable housing
