NUS secretly pushed for drastic cuts in grants

Kohoutek

Apologies if this has been posted already, I found it pretty interesting and revealing about the NUS leadership's agenda. They don't seem to care about the welfare of aspirant students from low income homes...they're clearly not "all in this together".

The Daily Telegraph has seen emails from Mr Porter and his team in which the NUS leadership urged ministers to cut grants and loans as an alternative to raising tuition fees.

In private talks in October, the NUS tried to persuade ministers at the Department for Business to enact their planned 15 per cent cut in higher education funding without lifting the cap on fees.

In one email to the department’s officials, dated Oct 1, Mr Porter suggested that £800 million should be “deducted from the grants pot” over four years. That would cut total spending on grants by 61 per cent. Mr Porter also proposed the “introduction of a real rate of interest” for student loans. In an email the following day, Graeme Wise, an NUS political officer, suggested that ministers seeking cuts should start with the “student support” package of grants and loans.

He wrote: “It would be better in our view to first mitigate the cuts to provision by seeing how student support can be better focused at lower cost.” Mr Wise also suggested that the cuts in support could be imposed on students currently at university.

The NUS plans also called for £2.4 billion to be cut from the universities’ teaching budget over four years, a reduction of 48 per cent.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/8190379/National-Union-of-Students-secretly-urged-Government-to-make-deep-cuts-in-student-grants.html

tomterm8

So, in other words, the union is damned if it doesn't support change which means that every student will come out of University with £20k or more of debt, and when it does try to find methods to mitigate the damage the Tory government is doing to education it is also damned.

As for the Tory's claim we are all in this together, when they stop getting the taxpayers to pay for their private duck houses and moats, I might believe them.

Kohoutek

tomterm8 wrote: »

when it does try to find methods to mitigate the damage the Tory government is doing to education it is also damned.

Yes, but cutting grants by 61% would be highly regressive. I didn't think the NUS was a bastion of neoliberal economic thinking.

tomterm8

Kohoutek wrote: »

Yes, but cutting grants by 61% would be highly regressive. I didn't think the NUs was a bastion of neoliberal economic thinking.

And you think that the current Tory plans are a highly progressive measure?

Kohoutek

tomterm8 wrote: »

And you think that the current Tory plans are a highly progressive measure?

Of course not, but the Tories are proposing to raise the cost of higher education for everyone; Aaron Porter's proposal was to raise it only for people who currently qualify for grants, including for people already at university dependent on grants. That's why I would say it's regressive.

leveller2911

tomterm8 wrote: »

So, in other words, the union is damned if it doesn't support change which means that every student will come out of University with £20k or more of debt, and when it does try to find methods to mitigate the damage the Tory government is doing to education it is also damned.

As for the Tory's claim we are all in this together, when they stop getting the taxpayers to pay for their private duck houses and moats, I might believe them.[/QUOTE]


Your not Rochdale Pioneers socky are you?.......Or is Rochdale Pioneer your socky? . Headache ,time for a lay down.........

Your obviously an inteligent chap so !!!!!! stop being so political...

If you honestly believe that Nu-Labour would have done anything different you are sadly deluded.There are some Labour ministers,MP',s and ex prime ministers who should hold their heads in shame at the money they wasted over the last decade or so.You seem intent on blaming the Condems for all the cuts when the truth is the political elite are ALL to blame..............I refer you to Liam Byrnes note:"Theres no money left" ...

vaporate

The 'debts' students will leave with will be at least 27k if charged 9k per year. Throw in food, accommodation, books, travel, leisure and you are looking at around 45k.

I'm just glad I did my degree before this rubbish policy, sorry stitch up, came about.

leveller2911

vaporate wrote: »

The 'debts' students will leave with will be at least 27k if charged 9k per year. Throw in food, accommodation, books, travel, leisure and you are looking at around 45k.

I'm just glad I did my degree before this rubbish policy, sorry stitch up, came about.

How many Universities will be charging £9k a year?....Given the choice which do you prefer? : (a) Student fee rise? or (b) cuts to the NHS budget ??

It really is that simple, if you don't think so why are we paying £££millions per day in debt re-payment?

ILW

There is nothing stopping you sponsoring a few students with a few grand a year if you feel that strongly about it.

StevieJ

I wonder who leaked those emails

The National Union of Students secretly urged the Coalition to make deep cuts in student grants and charge market rates of interest on student loans, according to leaked emails.

vaporate

leveller2911 wrote: »

How many Universities will be charging £9k a year?....

You can be sure most will.

Why would they not? That is the question.