Isla Defty, Leeds Socialist Students
91% of students are either worried or very worried about the rising cost of living, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This worry is reflected in the measures students have been forced to take simply to survive. This year, a survey by the National Union of Students found that 11% of all students have resorted to using food banks.
Students have been virtually abandoned by the government and university bosses, and left to deal with a crushing cost-of-living crisis by ourselves. Provisions such as the £400 energy bill payment will not affect those in student accommodation and, since full-time students are unable to claim income-related benefits, we are blocked from receiving the low-income cost-of-living payment.
Personally, my bill payment is done through a service called UniHomes. We pay a set amount per person per week. That amount is rising from £16 a week to £24 a week next year if we want to live in the same house. There is no way to negotiate this payment, we simply have to accept that we will be paying a third more on bills with no extra financial help.
‘Cost-of living packages’ provided by many universities fall disappointingly short. In an email sent to students, the University of Leeds stated it has increased its Financial Assistance Fund by £1.5 million to £1.9 million. But with over 36,000 students, all paying at least £9,250 a year in tuition fees, if the 91% of students who are struggling all claimed this hardship fund, they would receive just under £60 each.
The major issue is the fact that the student loans system is fundamentally broken. The amount given as a student maintenance loan is based on several factors, including how much your parents earn, where you’re going to university, and whether or not you live with your parents.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies states that “‘the real value of maintenance entitlements has fallen substantially and is now at the lowest level it has been in seven years…students from the poorest families have lost more than £1,000 in maintenance loan entitlement”.
Parents, themselves hit by rising costs, are typically expected to pick up the slack for inadequate maintenance loans. Instead of providing real help, university bosses suggest students pick up part-time jobs on top of full-time studies. One in four students have taken on new debt in response to the rising cost of living, according to the ONS.
Things need to fundamentally change. Socialist Students fights for living maintenance grants which rise with the cost of living, and for the abolition of tuition fees. Universities must open the books so we know exactly where our £9,250 per year is going. Universities must agree to pay staff a decent living wage, as well as stopping and reversing pensions attacks.
These are not unreasonable or unattainable demands. Students in Scotland don’t pay tuition fees, and neither did students in England until 1998. Why is the government insisting that young people suffer for our education? Because they would rather plunge us into a lifetime of debt than take money from their super-rich mates to fund free high-quality and accessible education for all.
An international student explains what the cost-of-living crisis means for them:
“Our tuition fees don’t have a price cap, so universities feel free to charge us any ridiculous amounts they want. We are not eligible for any welfare schemes because we are not citizens. We are not eligible for Disabled Students Allowance or hardship funds. Most of us are self-funded. We work exploitative zero-hour contracts and we don’t get any maintenance loans. We can only work 20 hours a week. At my current wage this barely meets my rent. We are stuck in this bubble of financial insecurity knowing we are on our own with no state support, relying on family and friends for help”.
