THE CAMPAIGNING group Socialist Students has consistently argued that
tuition fees would deter people from studying. Now, a new study,
following a number of polls, shows that the £3,000 a year top-up fees
put off working-class and some middle-class students from higher
education. A large number also plan to live at home and go to their
local university due to debt fears.
Zena Awad
Previous studies showed drops in applications of 5% to13% but these
latest findings, coming a week before the deadline for university
applications, are expected to show a significant drop.
This counters the government’s false argument that the new funding
system would not put poorer students off because you only pay the fees
once you earn a minimum annual salary of £15,000 and due to the new
bursary scheme for poorer students. But by ‘poorer’, they mean students
whose families’ joint income is less than £15,000 a year! This means
most working-class students won’t get any bursary.
These same results show that universities are failing to sell their
new bursary schemes; moreover 30% of bursary advisers don’t even receive
any information on universities’ bursaries!
This government’s new education ‘reforms’ are in reality an attack on
free education and an attempt to force competition for funding between
the universities. This is also to prepare the ‘top’ ones for
privatisation and to compete on the international market, hence Russell
Group Universities – the ‘Top Universities’ – are seeking to attract
rich students and private funding.
This is creating a multi-tier education system where working-class
and Black and Asian students are segregated into their local
under-funded courses while places like Oxford become more white and
middle class.
This drop in applications will pose a serious problem to most
universities which are primarily funded according to their student
membership. They will see immediate loss of funding for unrecruited
students and will face reduced capacity the following year. This will
add to the already escalating department closures, the shortages of
facilities on campuses of poorer universities or particular courses, and
hence job cuts for education workers.
Socialist Students campaigns on campuses and within National Union of
Students to actively link up with education trade unions and launch mass
joint action in defence of higher education. We also make links with
other public-sector workers for trade unionists to defend jobs and
services and fight for a decent future – a socialist future.
