The National Union of Students took part in a march in central London on Saturday 19th of November in protest against the proposed Education Bill, demanding for quality education with limited costs.
According to The Guardian, students and lecturers are upset over the government’s plans for an “ideologically led market experiment” that could lead to free market universities, like the Trump University, with minimal government interference.
Ismail Sadurdeen, Students’ Union President of UoN, has asserted his opposition to the bill. Along with BME officer Moonisah Iqbal, Community Officer Abel Hartman and 40 students from Nottingham, Sadurdeen participated in the march in London. Sadurdeen has said that:
“The SU is not just for sports, societies, volunteering etc. The Students’ Union can help you campaign on the things that matter the most to you: local, national or global!”
The Higher Education and Research Bill has not yet passed but students are worried that, if it does, it will ‘introduce a teaching excellence framework that will rank universities by quality, and allow the best-performing institutions to raise their fees in line with inflation.’
Malia Bouattia, president of the National Union of Students, is highly concerned about what this means for lecturers and student debts. She highlighted that “Universities are already advertising fees above £9,000,” even though the bill has not even been passed by Parliament.
Sally Hunt, general secretary of the Universities and College Union, also joined the march demanding that the government should offer reassurance to EU staff and students, stating that Theresa May should “stop using EU staff and students as pawns in Brexit negotiations”.
Abel Hartman (Community Officer) and Ismail Sadurdeen (President) during the march
Elspeth Cowie, a first year History student told Impact: “I was going to take a gap year but decided not to because I became aware of the possibility that the government might raise the fees for next year.”
Sarah Lindgärde
Images: Ismail Sadurdeen
