NUS President Wes Streeting said:
“We agree with the Government that students should be an equal partner in higher education, and that is why it is absolutely essential that we are given a seat at the table in the forthcoming review of fees, rather than merely being consulted.
Anything less would be totally unacceptable to students who are rightly concerned about a back-room stitch up. The Government must practice what it preaches on student engagement.”
On the Government’s expected proposals for greater transparency about the quality and content of courses offered by universities, Wes Streeting said:
“We welcome any proposals which would improve the information, advice and guidance available to applicants. However, we would be deeply concerned if this measure were viewed as paving the way for the raising of the cap on fees and the opening up of a market in higher education.
Information about degree courses must not be allowed to be reduced to the kind of supermarket labelling one might find on a tin of baked beans.”
Wes Streeting also voiced concerns about the proposal of ‘no-fee’ degrees, which the Government has previously floated in the press:
“While so-called ‘no-fee’ degrees might benefit a small number of students who choose to study closer to home for the right reasons, this proposal could lead to a two-tier system whereby poorer students feel compelled to stay at home for financial reasons, and find their course choices limited as a result.
“It is also problematic because it assumes that students living at home do not need financial help. According to the Government’s own figures, students over 25, those with children and those living at home all face higher costs in order to participate in their course, for instance relating to childcare or travel.
It is therefore wrong to suggest that these groups will be helped by having their fees and loans scrapped.”