Students fail to oppose rise in tuition fees

by Emily Hewett

 

Only 100 students have responded to an email sent by the Student Union (SU) to thousands of University of the Arts London (UAL) students, calling on them to oppose the expected rise in tuition fees.

The SU sent 50,000 emails out to 22,000 students, according to Campaigns and Communications Officer Kit Friend.

The National Union of Students (NUS) and Arts Student Union (SUARTS) are calling on all UAL students to vote for the candidate that will fight for a fairer education system and oppose an increase in top up fees in the forthcoming general election.

Signing the pledge and entering a few basic details online, and so demonstrating the size of the student vote, would pressurise MPs in to realising the numbers of students in their constituency, according to the NUS.

'Poor uptake'

SUARTS Campaigns & Communications Officer Kit Friend said: “People complain about cuts but they’re not getting involved. There is such a poor uptake in this campaign.

“Aside from the emails we sent there is also a Vote for Students Facebook campaign, the My Arts webpage and regular tweets.

"I am quite literally chasing people on Facebook. There is no reason why students should not know about the pledge.

“In 2008 a mandate was introduced stating that all students should use their university email account or at least have their university email forwarded to their personal account."

Friend also revealed UAL faced a similar situation in 2007, when only five UAL students took part in the NUS' “no fees, free education” march, despite its widespread coverage.

Come clean, says NUS

The NUS wants political candidates to come clean and outline their position on higher education fees.

So far, candidates have been hiding behind the higher education review, due to be published in the autumn, and are avoiding questions on university funding, says the union.

Student voters represent a significant amount of the voting population and could be swayed over the issue of tuition fees, ultimately determining who wins the election.

NUS have recently released the names of 1,000 parliamentary candidates who have agreed to vote against any rise in tuition fees in the next parliament.

President of the NUS, Aaron Porter said: “With more than 45 constituencies around the country containing large student populations, the candidates who can effectively engage with this group are sure to reap the rewards on election day.

"No party can take the student vote for granted.”

Sign the pledge by visiting http://www.voteforstudents.co.uk