Students Have Something To Say About Increased Tuition Fees. Who’s Listening?
A group of university students and graduates are encouraging others to speak up and fight for their future.
The response demonstrates that students have a voice but struggle to be heard by those dictating their future.
This week, over 1,000 students and supporters have already voiced their opinion by signing a petition against increased fees run by the student money website SaveTheStudent.org.
Over 8,000 students are supporting the Facebook campaign “Students Against Tuition Fees”.
The Issues
The campaign is in response to The Browne Review which last week recommended uncapping tuition fees in favour of a market-led approach to higher education.
Whilst the Lib Dems have since responded that a cap should remain, fees are still set to more than double.
The new government is adamant that Britain must climb out of its crippling deficit, yet the youth continue to be educated into debt.
Students are repeatedly portrayed in Britain as being lazy. This gross generalisation has no doubt influenced the assault on the population as an ‘easy target’. The campaign dismisses this idea by showing that many students will stand up for the right to education for all.
Student Responses
The comments below have been selected from the petition organised by www.savethestudent.org. They are individual opinions representing the general feelings of students towards increased tuition fees.
1. Students ask: why should the financial failures of the past be pinned on the one group who can attract foreign investment and support an ageing population?
“Is starting life with around £25,000 debt not bad enough?!”
“In order to lead a country back from an economic crisis, skilled professionals are necessary, by preventing people from entering a good education, the opposite will result.”
“Industry in Britain has been collapsing for a long time, and the last vital thing that we export is knowledge.”
2. Students seriously question the credibility and motivations of government.
“The increases in fees are being used to plug the unprecedented recommendation for cuts of 80% in university teaching funding.”
“If this goes through then the liberal democrats might as well just get a blue marker and scribble out their manifesto.”
“This is nothing more than the current generation of politicians pulling up the ladder and it is bad for our country.”
“Higher fees won't mean better courses either, as many of the universities will use it to fund research.”
3. What right do MPs and business leaders have to offload the burden on the next generation? After all, these elitists benefited from a free university education and ultimately got us in this mess.
“Why don’t the ten millionaires in the cabinet pay back for the degrees they got for free.”
4. Inevitable class divide. More bright students who cannot afford the fees or are fearful of the growing cost of university will become socially excluded and deprived the opportunity to learn.
“Education should be a right, not a privilege.”
“The changes will put off those from low incomes, who will be scared off by the thought of even larger debts.”
5. Some see more incentive to study abroad, exporting ability and undermining the competitiveness of British universities.
“If our universities had cost £30,000 like top flight US ones when I had started my bachelors, I would have studied abroad. I'm proud of our amazing universities which can all be afforded by anyone, rich or poor. Don't change this.”
About the website
Save The Student! was created by Owen Burek, a recent graduate from the University of Manchester. The website is in response to the growing costs of university in the UK. It provides free, impartial advice to students on how to make their money go further. The aim is to reduce the amount of debt students are expected to graduate with.
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Petition against increased tuition fees
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