Students threaten MPs over fees
Students are warning MPs they will vote on the issue of fees Student leaders are threatening to 'name and shame' MPs who do not sign up to a student union campaign against raising tuition fees in England.
NUS president, Wes Streeting, also argues that there is no public support for raising fees. 'The vast majority of the general public is against higher fees, and voters deserve to know where their MP stands on this key issue,' said Mr Streeting. 'Today students are making it clear to politicians that if they refuse to speak out against raising the cap on fees, we will hit them where it hurts - at the ballot box.'
Students will name and shame MPs who refuse to oppose rise in tuition fees
Student leaders have promised to name and shame every MP who refuses to sign a pledge to oppose a rise in university tuition fees, the Guardian has learned.
In a letter to the Guardian today, the student leaders of more than 85 universities and higher education institutes in the UK pledge to break the two main political parties' "cosy consensus of silence" on fees.
Who should pay for degrees?
The review of postgraduate education will look at thorny issues, including concentration.
'Some students are realising that an undergraduate degree is not enough to secure graduate employment,' says Aaron Porter, vice-president of the National Union of Students (NUS), which will be submitting evidence to the inquiry. 'That – and the fact that undergraduate numbers have swelled – means there are many more people contemplating taking a further degree. 'We need to look closely to see whether institutions are set up and sufficiently well-tuned to ensure they can provide high-quality postgraduate education to those they are admitting.'
The NUS is particularly concerned by the availability of facilities and resources, and whether postgraduates who are teaching are receiving staff development support. The union is also worried about the geographical distribution of postgraduate degrees, which means that some students are simply unable to take their course of choice because they have to live at home for financial or personal reasons.
Loan bosses left students broke, yet still took huge bonuses
Student loan chiefs collected five-figure bonuses this year despite presiding over a fiasco which left thousands starting university in poverty.
Wes Streeting, president of the National Union of Students, said: 'It is time for (SLC boss) Ralph Seymour- Jackson to take full responsibility for this shambles and resign.'
Uni students fear fee rise
Student leaders warned the Government not to 'stitch them up' by hiking up university tuition fees after a long-awaited review was launched today.
The president of the National Union of Students (NUS), Wes Streeting, has warned ministers against a 'cosy stitch-up' on tuition fees. He said: 'This would be a disaster for UK higher education and must not be allowed to happen. 'Members of the review should be in no doubt about the scale of public opposition to a hike in fees and the level of student anger about the extent of our indebtedness and the marketisation of our education. 'Politicians should remember the student backlash in 2004 that almost brought Blair's government down and saw many pro-fees MPs lose their seats subsequently. There will be an even greater backlash if the review proposes plunging students into greater debt.'
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