Students graduating from university this year will be the first generation that faced £9,000 a year tuition fees over their three years. The Socialist Party campaigns for all fees to be scrapped. Beth Sutcliffe, Lewisham Socialist Party, explains their impact.

Photo Suzanne Beishon

Photo Suzanne Beishon   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Completing my A-levels and studying hard enough to get the grades for university were not my only concerns as I came to the end of school. Pressure was added by the announcement that tuition fees would triple to £9,000 a year, an amount quite incomprehensible to an 18 year old who hasn’t left home.

Beginning my degree, one of the most obvious effects of the increase in tuition fees was to make students feel more like ‘consumers’ of education.

‘Investment’

We have been constantly assured that our degree is an ‘investment in our future’. This is a frequent reminder that our education amounts to little more than investment and return, not something to be passionate about.

In February 2013, Times Higher Education reported that UK universities increased spending on marketing by 22% as the introduction of higher fees took effect. So our £9,000 a year ‘investment’ seems to have been spent on advertising rather than teaching or facilities!

In reality there is no assurance that £50,000 of debt and three years of university will result in a reasonably paid job.

In fact it is now almost expected of us that we must first find an internship to be able to begin a career after we finish university. This amounts to working for free in the hope of an increased chance at getting a paid job.

Appetite for change

I was recently involved in an occupation at my university. We were calling for free education and protesting the university’s attempts to further reduce facilities for the most vulnerable students. There is an appetite for change amongst the student population, but to be truly effective this must link up with the larger battle against capitalism to put an end to the continuing marketisation of education.