This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/mortarboard/2012/mar/14/student-day-of-action-protests-over-government-s-higher-education-plans
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Student day of action: protests over higher education plans - live | Student day of action: protests over higher education plans - live |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 12.17pm: Students at York St John decorate the vice-chancellor's office with posters. Thanks to Ryan Sandford-Blackburn, campaigns & communications co-ordinator at the union. Follow Ryan @ysjsu | |
| 11.58am: Here's a photo of King's College London students pinning the hidden costs of their studies to their giant pound sign. | 11.58am: Here's a photo of King's College London students pinning the hidden costs of their studies to their giant pound sign. |
| 11.40am: I just spoke to Liam Burns, president of the National Union of Students who was preparing to head down to the University of London Union's rally. | 11.40am: I just spoke to Liam Burns, president of the National Union of Students who was preparing to head down to the University of London Union's rally. |
| He told me that students were in no way resigned to tuition fees going up and up and that a growing number of universities were listening to pleas from their students' unions to clamp down on hidden course costs. The tripling of tuition fees is just the tip of the iceberg, he said. There needed to be far more scrutiny over plans to cut bursaries and to give private providers a greater role in higher education. | He told me that students were in no way resigned to tuition fees going up and up and that a growing number of universities were listening to pleas from their students' unions to clamp down on hidden course costs. The tripling of tuition fees is just the tip of the iceberg, he said. There needed to be far more scrutiny over plans to cut bursaries and to give private providers a greater role in higher education. |
| Both locally on campuses and in government, people know that we won't let [ministers] get away with this ... The most insidious thing about Willetts' narrative is that this is a better deal for students ... Students are still paying for field trips, lab coats and all things that are essential to their courses. | Both locally on campuses and in government, people know that we won't let [ministers] get away with this ... The most insidious thing about Willetts' narrative is that this is a better deal for students ... Students are still paying for field trips, lab coats and all things that are essential to their courses. |
| 11.13am: An interesting and provoking comment below the line from NTEightySix | 11.13am: An interesting and provoking comment below the line from NTEightySix |
| It's a very just and noble cause but how many of these students will swiftly drop these principles after they graduate and get snapped up by PwC or Deloitte? Joining up with every trendy lefty movement at university is basically a fleeting hobby for a lot of these middle class students, so who are they kidding? | It's a very just and noble cause but how many of these students will swiftly drop these principles after they graduate and get snapped up by PwC or Deloitte? Joining up with every trendy lefty movement at university is basically a fleeting hobby for a lot of these middle class students, so who are they kidding? |
| What do you think? | What do you think? |
| 11.11am: Hannah Waldram from our news communities team writes in: | 11.11am: Hannah Waldram from our news communities team writes in: |
| "We're asking those at protests today to share their images via our Student cuts placards and posters Flickr group – which already has some great photos from previous stands against the education reforms. We'll feature some of the best ones on the site here which will help paint a picture of the day of action across the UK. | "We're asking those at protests today to share their images via our Student cuts placards and posters Flickr group – which already has some great photos from previous stands against the education reforms. We'll feature some of the best ones on the site here which will help paint a picture of the day of action across the UK. |
| You can also follow today's action on Twitter via this list of some of the key voices at the protests, including representatives for student unions at Warwick, Bristol and Sussex universities. | You can also follow today's action on Twitter via this list of some of the key voices at the protests, including representatives for student unions at Warwick, Bristol and Sussex universities. |
| If you're at a protest today you can share your pictures via the Flickr group, leave a comment below or tweet on the #nuswalkout and #comeclean hashtags to @guardian with your news and updates." | If you're at a protest today you can share your pictures via the Flickr group, leave a comment below or tweet on the #nuswalkout and #comeclean hashtags to @guardian with your news and updates." |
| 10.33am: Several student unions have been in touch to tell me what they are up to today. First off, Sheffield Hallam has organised a rally outside City Hall in just under an hour's time. Jake Kitchiner, president of the students' union, says he will be lobbying local MP Nick Clegg. | 10.33am: Several student unions have been in touch to tell me what they are up to today. First off, Sheffield Hallam has organised a rally outside City Hall in just under an hour's time. Jake Kitchiner, president of the students' union, says he will be lobbying local MP Nick Clegg. |
| Norwich University College of the Arts students will also be writing letters to their local MP, Lib Dem Simon Wright. They'll be asking him to call on David Willetts, the universities minister, to make the coalition's plans for higher education public. | Norwich University College of the Arts students will also be writing letters to their local MP, Lib Dem Simon Wright. They'll be asking him to call on David Willetts, the universities minister, to make the coalition's plans for higher education public. |
| The union of Newman University College in Birmingham are encouraging students to come and tell a "banker" how much they have spent so far on hidden course costs during their studies. | The union of Newman University College in Birmingham are encouraging students to come and tell a "banker" how much they have spent so far on hidden course costs during their studies. |
| One of the biggest events numbers-wise will be the University of London Union rally. This is being held with the Education Activist Network and the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts. It is assembling at Malet Street at 1.30pm. | One of the biggest events numbers-wise will be the University of London Union rally. This is being held with the Education Activist Network and the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts. It is assembling at Malet Street at 1.30pm. |
| The University of Warwick student union has set up cages across its campus and are collecting photos of students who believe they have been "caged by costs". They'll be presenting this to the head of the university, Professor Nigel Thrift. | The University of Warwick student union has set up cages across its campus and are collecting photos of students who believe they have been "caged by costs". They'll be presenting this to the head of the university, Professor Nigel Thrift. |
| 10.15am: Michael Chessum, who is on the NUS executive council and is from a separate group, a coalition of students and workers known as the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts, is calling on David Willetts, the universities minister, to resign. | 10.15am: Michael Chessum, who is on the NUS executive council and is from a separate group, a coalition of students and workers known as the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts, is calling on David Willetts, the universities minister, to resign. |
| He told me Willetts was trying to "gut" higher education and "turn it into a privatised luxury". | He told me Willetts was trying to "gut" higher education and "turn it into a privatised luxury". |
| The government's higher education white paper, on top of a tripling of fees and the worst cuts higher education has ever faced, will put good university education off limits to many students, creating a chaotic and two tiered market in provision with paying consumers. The dropping of the higher education bill was a symbolic victory for the student movement, but in practice amounts to no more than an attempt to force through regressive reforms by executive action, without a public argument. His policies will dismantle higher education as we know it, and his approach has been antidemocratic and frankly cowardly. | The government's higher education white paper, on top of a tripling of fees and the worst cuts higher education has ever faced, will put good university education off limits to many students, creating a chaotic and two tiered market in provision with paying consumers. The dropping of the higher education bill was a symbolic victory for the student movement, but in practice amounts to no more than an attempt to force through regressive reforms by executive action, without a public argument. His policies will dismantle higher education as we know it, and his approach has been antidemocratic and frankly cowardly. |
| 10.13am: Thousands of students are boycotting lectures and attending rallies today as part of a National Union of Students' campaign to highlight the plight of what the union says is a growing number of students being priced out of obtaining a degree. | 10.13am: Thousands of students are boycotting lectures and attending rallies today as part of a National Union of Students' campaign to highlight the plight of what the union says is a growing number of students being priced out of obtaining a degree. |
| I'll be covering the day's events on campuses across the country. Send me your personal experiences of the hidden – and not so hidden – costs of higher education and tell us what is going on today at your university or college. | I'll be covering the day's events on campuses across the country. Send me your personal experiences of the hidden – and not so hidden – costs of higher education and tell us what is going on today at your university or college. |
| You can tweet me - jessshepherd1 - or email at jessica.shepherd@guardian.co.uk. | You can tweet me - jessshepherd1 - or email at jessica.shepherd@guardian.co.uk. |
| Today's events are the culmination of a week-long "Come Clean" campaign by the NUS. The union says that unlike for the NHS reforms, the government is not giving the public the opportunity to scrutinise major reforms to higher education. These reforms include the near-trebling of tuition fees to up to £9,000 this autumn and the opening-up to the private sector of degree-awarding powers. | Today's events are the culmination of a week-long "Come Clean" campaign by the NUS. The union says that unlike for the NHS reforms, the government is not giving the public the opportunity to scrutinise major reforms to higher education. These reforms include the near-trebling of tuition fees to up to £9,000 this autumn and the opening-up to the private sector of degree-awarding powers. |
| While a white paper setting out the coalition's changes for higher education has been published, plans to publish a bill were quietly dropped or delayed in January. | While a white paper setting out the coalition's changes for higher education has been published, plans to publish a bill were quietly dropped or delayed in January. |
| Liam Burns, president of the NUS, says this "removed the opportunity for the kind of scrutiny that has been afforded to changes in the NHS". | Liam Burns, president of the NUS, says this "removed the opportunity for the kind of scrutiny that has been afforded to changes in the NHS". |
| Students, parents, lecturers and anyone with a stake in education wants to know what the government and our institutions have in store for higher education and demand that they come clean. | Students, parents, lecturers and anyone with a stake in education wants to know what the government and our institutions have in store for higher education and demand that they come clean. |