The candidates for the position of Vice President Higher Education are listed below.
Badhri Sai Purnima Raj Durgapu
De Montfort University Students' Union
Statement:
Higher Education is under pressure. Students are facing rising living costs, limited maintenance support, academic stress, and uncertainty about graduate opportunities.
As a Student Voice Leader and Employability Officer, I have worked directly with students to improve placement awareness, deliver careers workshops, and raise academic concerns at institutional level. I understand the everyday realities students face.
If elected, I will campaign for fair academic policies, improved financial support, stronger mental health provision, and employability embedded in every course.
I will provide honest, visible, and accountable national representation — ensuring student voices drive real change.
Nominators:
Anshika Kakkar, Derby Union of Students
Hari Prasad Boddupally, Greenwich Students' Union
Sai Vishwanth Reguri, Northumbria Students' Union
Dilpreet Kaur, De Montfort University Students' Union
Sai Dorapally, Teesside University Students' Union
Dohala Naga Krishna Chalasani, Coventry University Students' Union
Shravya Patlolla, University of East London Students' Union
Esther Adeyemo Ahiaba
University of Sussex Students' Union
Statement:
The government doesn’t respect students. Institutions don't either. We need a strong student movement to push education back to the front burner of this country's agenda. I will ensure that student voice matters within the NUS and lobby the government to invest more in Higher Education. In my current role, I have spent most of my time challenging policy and making institutions work for us. I now have four priorities for centering student voice and delivering change; Equal SU representation within the NUS, Fair Deal for Student Living and Employability, Fair Deal for International Students, and Student Rental Rights.
Nominators:
Sheba Tayo-Garbson, University of Salford Students' Union
George Watkinson-Biddulph, Winchester Student Union
Lyds Knowles, University of Sussex Students' Union
Qianying Song, Students' Union UCL
Mariah Forde, Union of Kingston Students
Edward Tagoe, St Mary's University Students' Union
Abraham Gosipatala, University of East London Students' Union
Francis Ani
Hull University Students' Union
Statement:
My name is Chibuike Francis Ani, over the years, I’ve turned student concerns into actions. I’ve strengthened the course rep system so more students have voice, reduced the cost of sport to widen access,and created initiatives that genuinely support student wellbeing. I’m leading work on ethical AI use in education for both students and staff, and I helped mobilise to defend the Graduate Visa. I will be consistently clear about the value of NUS membership so every officer can articulate why it matters.
I’m standing to organise, to consolidate and win for ALL, vote Francis for experienced leadership that delivers.
Nominators:
Efosa Iyekekpolor, York St. John Students' Union
Ruby Turford, Hull University Students' Union
Mary Udeze, Northumbria Students' Union
Clinton Aideloje, Teesside University Students' Union
Ebuka Obi, Sheffield Hallam Students' Union
Hauwa Ataja, Beds SU
Abbigail Parkin, Roehampton Students' Union
Jeena Thomas
ARU Students' Union
Statement:
Higher education in the UK is under strain; not because students are silent, but because mobilisation is weakened. Rising living costs, unpaid placements, opaque levies, housing insecurity, and mental health pressures hit students hard, with international and postgraduate students disproportionately affected. At ARU, as Education Officer, I co-created the One Voice campaign to track issues from submission to resolution, collaborated on the national Pay the Placement campaign, strengthened governance, and delivered reforms improving support. As VP Higher Education, I will bring delivery-focused leadership to NUS, ensuring coordinated national action that delivers real outcomes.
Nominators:
Jeffery Ononiwu, Bournemouth University Students' Union
Caius Hamilton, Beds SU
Ramees Nazar, ARU Students' Union
Abhishek Roy, University of East London Students' Union
Sowmiya Jeyakumar, University of Birmingham Guild of Students
Rohit Nila, Greenwich Students' Union
Trupti Ravindra, Leeds Beckett Students' Union
Lewis Wilson
University of Sussex Students' Union
Statement:
Hi, I’m Lewis (he/him) and I’m running for Vice President Higher Education. I’m standing because students are being failed: by government, by regulators, and frankly by NUS not being bold enough. Over the last two years as Education & Employability Officer at Sussex SU, I’ve secured rent freezes, advocated for disabled students, stood up for trans+ rights, prioritised access to education (especially via transport), fought the government on further marketisation of our education, and worked on divestment policies and institutional accountability. NUS must be an organisation that genuinely delivers for students- not one that looks away when it’s hard.
Nominators:
Holly Thompson, Liverpool Guild of Students
Sam Bixby-Bland, Hull University Students' Union
Alec Severs, University of Manchester Students' Union
Avery Bailey, Falmouth & Exeter Students' Union
Alex Wilson, Winchester Student Union,
Molly Pemberton, Sheffield Hallam Students' Union
Alex Toomath, Liverpool Hope Students' Union
Maanya Raju
Warwick Students' Union
Statement:
Hi, I’m Maanya, from Warwick SU. I’m not running to be a symbolic VP. Higher education is too broken for decorative leadership.
We’re charged like customers, governed like risks, and treated like revenue, especially international students, who fund the system yet face the greatest precarity.
I’ve risen from kitchen staff to Vice President, building democratic structures, securing funding, and driving AI reform.
I stand for decolonising education, tackling structural racism, defending international students’ rights, and restoring funding integrity which has failed students, particularly our racially marginalised communities.
Higher education must empower students, not exhaust them. Let’s realign it together.
Nominators:
Daksh Gaba, Warwick Students' Union
Sathyam Sanyam Gadakari, King's College London Students' Union
Mannat Aggarwal, University of Westminster Students' Union
Mohammed Ajwad Shariff, Lancaster University Students' Union
Krish Thakrar, Students' Union UCL
Aansker Shyni, Birmingham City University Students' Union
Sia Aggarwal, University of Bath Students' Union
Nasir Mohammed
City St George's Students' Union
Statement:
Vote Nasir Mohammed for NUS Vice President Higher Education. Higher education is failing to reflect the realities students face, with rising costs, unemployment and weakened representation. As a two-term sabbatical officer and law graduate, I will rebuild NUS around real student lives. I will push for paid placements, fair access to graduate opportunities and a Working Student Guarantee so students are not penalised for earning a living. I will demand transparency on course costs and protect student activism from intimidation. NUS must be democratic, responsive and decisive, turning student voices into real power that delivers meaningful change.
Nominators:
Shoukat Mehsud, Birmingham City University Students' Union
Raias Bin Nizam, Ravensbourne Students' Union
Elliot Briffa, University of Manchester Students' Union
Othman Ibrahim, Liverpool Guild of Students
Kushaf Sohail, Aston Students' Union
Muhammad Abdulmumin, Greenwich Students' Union
Anoshay Hasnat, City, University of London Students' Union
Saroj Kumar Kamtee
University College Birmingham Guild of Students
Statement:
I’m Saroj Kamtee, second-term Societies and Activities Officer at UCB.
Working-class and International students are too often unheard, struggling in a system that puts profit before people. It’s time to rebuild NUS UK.
I will restore trust, transparency, and effective delivery — devolving power to students and mobilising grassroots action to tackle the student crisis.
If you feel ignored, exhausted, or angry at the system — I hear you. And I will fight alongside you.
Rebuild trust
Rebuild confidence
Rebuild transparency
Rebuild delivery
Rebuild NUS UK. Saroj Lead VP HE
VOTE SAROJ KAMTEE #1 for NUS VP HE
Nominators:
Pooja Gautam, Ravensbourne Students' Union
Cloudy Kerin, Newman University Students' Union
Nahid Binte Islam Rimu, London Metropolitan University Students' Union
Syed Shahab Ali, Edge Hill Students' Union
Kunal Chavan, University College Birmingham Guild of Students
Yingying Guo, University of Nottingham Students' Union
Olayemi Ogunleye, Worcester Students' Union
Shayaike Hassan
UCA Students’ Union
Statement:
Hey, I’m Shayaike, running for NUS England Vice President (Higher Education) because students deserve a system built on dignity, not debt. As an international student, I’ve faced visa uncertainty, rigid fee deadlines, and constant financial pressure. I’ve also seen home students pushed to breaking point by rising rent, hidden costs, and student loan anxiety. These realities shape how I lead. As VP HE, I won’t manage decline. I will lead national campaigns to cut unfair loan interest, defend maintenance support, challenge marketisation, and hold government and institutions to account. Students deserve better, and I’m ready to fight for it.
Nominators:
Komal Ashfaq, The Union MMU
Joshua, Kayode, Roehampton Students' Union
Stephan Bolton, Lincoln Bishop University Students' Union
Hamza Haroon, Union of Kingston Students
Shifa Shaikh, University of Westminster Students' Union
Jitendra Inturi, Liverpool Guild of Students
Ganesh Poshala, Teesside University Students' Union
