A few thoughts in response to Cameron's article in the Evening Standard

I spent the day out on the streets of London today.

I'm not a student myself anymore but I had a day free from work at last so I thought I'd take the opportunity to show some solidarity with the schoolkids and students. 

I have to say I was impressed. Despite the snowstorm and freezing winds blowing through us, people were still out and about. They managed to avoid being kettled in the beginning and just kept moving, with a trail of coppers running after them looking like they might have heart attacks at any moment form all the exertion.

As I was leaving at the end of the day, I picked up a copy of the ES to see how the corporate media were going to portray us today. I got to page 14 and found Cameron's latest piece of smug, patronizing drivel.

NEWS ALERT!!  We've all got it wrong apparently. No need to panic, we've all got it wrong and if we read the small print on the government's plans we'll realise that nobody's going to have to pay anything when they are actually at university.

Welcome to the land of doublethink, Orwell would be proud.

Fact no 1) Changes to higher education funding are unavoidable

Apparently that's a fact, no argument possible. Never mind that £120 billion worth of taxes went uncollected or avoided by our richest citizens last year. We wouldn't want to ask the government's best friend Philip Green to contribute, better let Monaco host his millions as a tax exile.

So, we've got to make cuts:

Funding for teaching costs for English higher education this year stand at 5 billion. Their solution apparently is to cut all government funding for arts and humanities, that'll solve the problem.

Fact no 2) Introducing market values into the education system will drive up standards.

If all the funding comes from students then universities will have to compete to attract them and so will improve their standards of teaching, research and facilities to attract students.
This is the great myth so beloved by conservatives.

Thatcher started it in the NHS in the 80s and I can see the disastrous effects now as I try and work in the health service. NHS hospitals now have to compete with private companies to provide services which are bought by primary care trusts. What happens is that the private companies win all the nice, money-making contracts eg to provide cataract operations, hip replacements, hernia repairs etc. The NHS hospitals instead win the right to look after the frail and elderly who need weeks of care and rehabilitation for which PCTs pay pittance. In addition when Mrs X (86) has her hip operation by the BUPA hospital and then strangely enough develops complications because 86 yr old ladies don't respond well to general anaesthetics and surgical operations, she gets shipped down the road to the NHS hospital to sort her out. 

(sorry, medical rant over)

Anyway, if universities have to compete with each other that will not necessarily drive up standards. Oxbridge may be able to compete but unis who depend on government help are not going to be able improve themselves overnight to attract students. Who's going to cover the first 5 years it takes to make any changes. Never mind, who cares if a few local unis get shut down?

Then what about subjects that are economically unpopular? Who's going to give you a job for getting a degree in ancient history or music or classics or zoology in today's economic climate?
Answer: cut these courses

Fact no 3) The government's plans are fair!

When you got to university from now onwards you won't have to pay the £9000+ a year up-front. You won't need to pay it back until you earn more than £21000/year. Therefore nobody should be discouraged.

There's a fundamental lack of understanding of what it means to be in debt here. They simply can't seem to understand why the prospect of leaving university with an average debt of > £35,000 would put some people off. I guess when you've never had to worry about money, when you've never owed anyone money, remember 18 members of the cabinet are millionaires at the moment, you can't understand why you would be worried about owing money to the bank, or the student loan company or whoever it is is going to provide the loans, a point they haven't made clear yet.

People are going to be put off, schoolkids all around me today were telling me they have been put off.

This is the propaganda that is being put out everyday
We need to challenge it at every opportunity.


Next time the students come out on the streets and stand in front of lines and lines of riot cops, every person out there who has benefited from a state-sponsored education owes it to them to stand right beside them.