By Lenny Osler, News Reporter
Bristol SU released a statement from its full-time officers yesterday, October 28, criticising a white paper which includes plans to raise tuition fees and maintenance loans in line with inflation each year.
The Post-16 Education and Skills white paper was released on October 20, and sets out the government's plans to reform the UK's education and skills landscape for over 16s.
The government wants to allow higher ‘quality’ institutions to charge more than others, and only offer the newly announced maintenance grants to students studying ‘priority courses’.
The SU's full-time officers say that ‘punishing institutions deemed to need improvement’ will detriment students, and while they acknowledge universities' ‘urgent need for sustainable funding’, the officers criticises the rise in tuition fees given the effect on students.
According to the University and College Union, UK universities have collectively announced over 15,000 job cuts in the last year, amid growing financial pressures in higher education.
Lenny Osler
On the rise of maintenance loans in line with inflation, the SU stresses that this ‘doesn’t go far enough’ to address students’ high rent prices and cost of living. It claims the changes to financial support only offer ‘short-term relief’ and could instead ‘mask deeper, systemic issues.’
The SU does ‘welcome the return of maintenance grants for financially disadvantaged students’, a policy also included in the white paper.
However, it is ‘disappointed’ that this will be reserved for students on priority courses, arguing it denies eligible students ‘the same options as their wealthier peers’ and risks devaluing arts, humanities, and social science courses.
The SU also claims international students are ‘unfairly targeted’ by the levy on overseas tuition fees to fund maintenance grants, expressing ‘dismay’ at the government’s continued ‘devaluing’ of migration.
Dana Andrea Datu
Last year, the SU joined the Loans That Last Campaign, which demanded location-adjusted maintenance loans - the SU officers cite this as evidence of their prior commitment to campaigning for affordable student living.
The statement invites students to attend a meeting in Senate House room 5.20, today at 4pm, to discuss the white paper. It also asks students to join the SU officers at an All-Party Parliamentary Group event on higher education at Portcullis House, Westminster, on November 5.
The statement ends with, ‘By working together, we can stand up and make Higher Education sustainable for generations to come.’
Vice-Chancellor Evelyn Welch said in a statement to Epigram about the government's plans:
‘We welcome the move to link tuition fees and maintenance loans with inflation, and support the principle of reintroducing maintenance grants for those students that most need support.
‘Ultimately, we need a funding model that will ensure universities are sustainable and able to deliver a world-class education for their students, while also making sure university remains a viable option for all.’
Featured Image: Epigram / Ellen Reynolds
