RECENTLY SOCIALIST Party councillors Chris Flood and Ian
Page put forward a motion calling on Lewisham council and the three local
Labour MPs to oppose top-up tuition fees. Here is part of Chris’s speech.
"TOP-UP fees of up to £3,000 a year will mean many
more students leaving university with huge debts of over £20,000. After
tuition fees came in, we saw applications to university fall, especially from
the poorest section of society.Last year university applications from young people in
England and Wales rose after falling in 2002, which is welcome. But the
universities’ ‘clearing house’ UCAS said applications from under-21 year olds
in England rose by 1.5% and by 1.1% in Wales, whereas those from Scottish
students, who don’t have to pay tuition fees upfront, increased by 2.9%.The argument that top-up fees will actually make students
better off as the repayment threshold will increase is dishonest – student debt
is set to double.The government says higher education is a ticket to higher
earnings. This might apply to someone working with a City firm but what about
someone working in the public sector such as teaching and the NHS?And the new funding arrangements will not solve the £8
billion black hole of under-investment in universities. Oxford University
Chancellor Chris Patten warns that top up fees of £3,000 a year would only
scratch the surface of higher education’s funding crisis.If we support this "co-payment" system, "marketisation",
in principle then we’ll be supporting future ‘co-payments’ in health and other
public sector areas.The government say everyone should contribute something to
their education, But people already do… it’s called taxation!They then say 80% of taxpayers never went to university –
so why should they pay? But on that basis why should those without children pay
for schools, or those without cars pay for roads? Once political parties start
to question who should pay for what, the idea of national collective provision
crumbles.This legislation will adversely affect applications, worsen
debt and do little to address the current funding crisis. We call on this
council and our local MPs to support Goldsmiths College, its students and
future students by opposing this legislation and supporting our motion."After hearing Chris speak, Lewisham council’s Labour
leadership ruled out voting as they don’t deal with higher education! But such
bureaucratic manoeuvres wouldn’t be able to save New Labour nationally if the
burning anger over top-up fees was fully organised.
