Join the #Nov19 national student march

Build the education fightback

Socialist Students on marching, photo Alistair Tice (Click to enlarge)

Ben Bolton, Liverpool Socialist Party

Students have suffered greatly under brutal privatisation and austerity measures.

Within the last 20 years, tuition fees in the UK have gone from non-existent to £3,000 and then £9,000 a year, in 2006 and 2010 respectively. Rents to private landlords have skyrocketed so that students are spending huge amounts of their loans just keeping a roof over their heads.

The latest attack on public education is the Tories' 'Higher Education and Research Bill'. This has further increased the cap on fees, allowing certain universities to lift them with inflation. It's another step towards a for-profit education system.

This is exactly why the National Union of Students (NUS) is right in calling a national demonstration in London against these attacks. However, this is only the first step.

A demonstration alone, while important, will not be enough. This must not just be a token of our anger - let's make the march a springboard for organising a coherent mass movement!

The NUS and student unions should use their huge platforms and resources to do this.

We need a programme of action at the local and national level, linked with school students, and coordinating with campus trade unions as well.

Take the school student strike in Spain on 26 October, with over 90% participation, and solidarity messages from around the world.

The Sindicato de Estudiantes (Spanish union of students) has already announced that if its demands aren't met, students will strike again in November, December and so on until they are.

This is the resilience, determination and organisation needed in our NUS. We need a union built from the ground up, fighting for those going through the hardships and struggles of student life.

We demand that tuition fees and the HE bill are scrapped. Build university-owned, student-run halls to break the racket of the private landlords. Reverse all cuts and sell-offs in education and the public sector. And introduce real living grants, so that students can not only survive, but flourish.

If you agree - get involved with Socialist Students, and join the Socialist Party!