National Union of Students (NUS) held a one-day
extraordinary conference on 17 June to discuss finance and reform, which
never got debated at the last annual conference. The motion from the
right-wing dominated National Executive Committee (NEC) proposed a package
of cuts in the democratic structures of NUS in order to reduce the current
deficit of £500,000 in the NUS budget.
Zena Awad, Socialist Students national co-ordinator
Unfortunately, Kat Fletcher, recently elected as a
supposedly left-wing president of the NUS, (the Campaign for Free
Education, CFE, candidate) actually moved the proposal herself and called
for support for the cuts!
This conference has come at a time when the government
is carrying out its own cuts in the colleges and universities. The NUS
leadership has failed time and time again to wage a mass campaign against
these cuts. Now, with the support of CFE and Labour Left students, it has
got its own cuts agreed at the conference, despite opposition from the
left, including Socialist Students.
Socialist Students had the biggest delegation and were
the only visible force on the left at the conference. We were the only
ones to argue for more public funding for universities and local Student
Unions. This is the only way to deal with the huge deficit problem and at
the same time transform this union.
Socialist Students
Socialist Students have been calling and building for
a mass campaign of direct action against all attacks on our education
rights, while taking part in and fighting to transform the NUS into a
democratic, fighting union.
The election of Kat Fletcher was seen as a victory for
the left and an opportunity to begin to achieve this. If the union was led
by genuine campaigners it would be an enormously powerful force, drawing
hundreds of thousands of students into activity – particularly if it
linked up with workers in the education sector against cuts and
privatisation.
NUS democracy needs to be expanded and developed on a
regional and national level, not cut, if it is to involve more students in
its structures. The motion proposed by the NEC will seriously curtail
democracy, which is central to integrating students into the national
union.
These attacks will discourage student participation
even further. This is especially the case with the FE colleges whose
sector conferences are now being cut. The size of the delegation to NUS
annual conference is being reduced and the number of elected positions
onto the National Executive, including the ‘block of twelve’, is facing a
review over its size.
Elected
The ‘block of twelve’ is the only body on the NEC
which has elected part-time officers and has therefore a crucial role to
play in representing students’ interests as it is more in touch with
student life. Kat Fletcher built her profile as part of the ‘block of
twelve’, but now she is in favour of reviewing its size.
Socialist Students will carry on opposing any attacks
on the democratic structures of NUS. The supposed justification, that
there is shortage of money to fund these structures, should be opposed
with the argument that NUS represents over a million students and that the
existing costs for students’ representation are not excessive.
What is needed is a campaign to fight for extra money
for Student Unions at a local level while campaigning nationally for
decent public funding into Higher and Further Education.
