NUS SLAMS UNIVERSITIES FOR FAILING POORER STUDENTS

NUS has slammed universities for failing to live up to their promises to widen participation from students from poorer backgrounds.

Statistics published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that the proportion of UK university students from lower socio-economic backgrounds fell from 29.8% in 2006/7 to 29.4% in 2007/8, and that the proportion of poorer students at Russell Group universities fell from 18.88% to 18.51%.

NUS President Wes Streeting said:

“These figures show that universities are getting even worse at widening participation from students from poorer backgrounds, despite promising to work harder in this area in return for the ability to charge top-up fees. The idea that fees could be raised to £5,000 a year without any impact on those from lower socio-economic backgrounds is laughable, particularly given the current harsh economic climate.

“In England, we also need to completely rethink the way that universities are funded. Top-up fees are leaving a generation of students in unprecedented levels of debt, and if the cap were to be raised, many more people from poorer backgrounds would be forced to conclude that they simply cannot afford to go to university at all.

“That is why next week NUS will be launching a radical alternative blueprint for funding our universities. We are challenging politicians to join us in debating this issue, rather than simply kicking it into the long grass and hoping that it will go away.”

On the fact that that the percentage of young full-time first degree entrants who are dropping out during their first year rose from 7.1% in 2005/6 to 7.4% in 2006/7, Wes Streeting added:

“Universities are not working hard enough to help those who are struggling to cope with the costs and demands of higher education. The current system of financial support, which leaves the administration of bursaries in the hands of individual institutions, is not working. We need a national scheme, so that financial support is based on how much a student needs it, not where they happen to be studying.”

In March, a BBC survey found that more than half of university vice chancellors want students to pay even higher tuition fees, calling for charges of at least £5,000 per year, or for there to be no upper limit.