That Girl from Derwent dwells on the value of religion this Christmas.
That Girl from Derwent has learned a few more things about prejudice since moving up North.
That Girl From Derwent reckons if you're going to be offensive, you should find a better reason.
That Girl from Derwent considers why it is that some words have wider implications than others.
In anticipation of Thursday's debate on tuition fees and access to higher education in general, The Yorker has asked David Levene, Chair of Labour Club, to give his viewpoint.
This year a Review on HE funding will take place. What are the dangers, and what should we do about it?
Tuition fees were passed in the House of Commons in 2004 by just five votes, in the face of a massive Labour backbench rebellion led by John Grogan, a local MP. As a result, although university applications have increased, a study by the Sutton Trust in 2008 concluded that students “from lower socio-economic classes, single parents, and Muslim and Black ethnic groups” were less likely to go to university, and less likely to go to a more “prestigious” university, due to increased debt.
Vice-chancellors across the country, particularly those from the elite Russell Group universities, have demanded that the 2009/10 Review recommend lifting the cap on tuition fees, with a report last year featuring a call for fees of £20,000 per year. Our own Vice-Chancellor, Brian Cantor, has refused to make a statement on the issue of raising the cap, with NUS Vice President for HE Aaron Porter stating that: “York could be one of the universities that are looking not for the cap to be lifted above £3,000, but to be scrapped altogether.”
Even if the cap was raised to around £7000pa, it is very likely a market in education would emerge
This would seriously damage our HE system. Even if the cap was raised to around £7000pa, it is very likely a market in education would emerge with the more selective universities charging more and so attracting richer students, and poorer students going to local or less selective institutions (as has started happening already).
Indeed, in 2004, Robert Reich – Professor of Social and Economic Policy at Brandeis University and the US Labour Secretary 1993-7 – stated that a system of variable fees in America had meant that “higher education in the United States is coming to resemble any other kind of personal service industry” which has resulted in "the destruction of public higher education in America”.
Even higher bursaries and grants for less well-off students would not help: the Sutton Trust study has shown that such measures have little impact as this information gets very little publicity, especially before students are accepted.
While it is true there is a real issue here about how HE is funded, there are plenty of alternatives out there. How businesses contribute to HE, as well as the possibility of differential tax rates for graduates reflecting increased earning potential, should all be considered.
So what to do about this? The answer for some is to vote against Labour. The problem with this is that in 2006 David Cameron performed a staggering (if not surprising, and under-reported) U-turn on their opposition to fees, while Liam Fox (at the time Conservative Party Chairman) heaped praise on the US-style system of massive and variable fees. The Liberal Democrats – although consistently opposing fees – have given no detail on how they would find alternative funding, instead relying on soundbites such as “efficiency savings”.
Instead, we urge students to join in the campaign being run by NUS and supported by YUSU. York University Labour Club is doing its bit: we used over £200 of our own funds to send students to the original anti-fees demo, and more recently have taken a hardline view against those Labour MPs who are supporting raising the cap, while helping James Alexander – former YUSU President and Prospective Labour MP for York Outer – in his petition against lifting the cap.
For more information on what Labour Club is doing on this issue, visit our website here. NUS’s report “Broke and Broken” is also a great resource: check it out here. Also, support the UGM motion next week that I have seconded as Chair of York Club, and come along to the Yorker’s debate on Thursday!
How much would you pay for an education? The debate, Thursday, 6pm, ATB056
You must log in to submit a comment.
