Charge students more? Who are you kidding?

As the start of the University term approaches, we've already had two major stories on higher education funding and neither of them have been particularly nice. Firstly, the Liberal Democrats have annoucned that they will probably scrap their core policy of scrapping tuition fees (http://www.libdems.org.uk/news_detail.aspx?title=Speech%3a_Liberal_Democrat_Leader_Nick_Clegg_delivers_his_rally_speech&pPK=a6eb332d-764d-46b1-bae8-4dc28d49649c), atleast for the time being (aka forever). Whilst this in itself is enough to make the student Liberals wonder why they bother, the most irrational news was - as usual - yet to come!

That wonderful organisation the CBI ("Confederation of British Industry" for those who weren't sure) - whos main members are, on the whole, not industrial companies but fat-cat bankers and service providers - are telling us that we (students) don't pay enough. They say we need to pay more money and get less financial support if British Universities are to remain the successful world-leaders that they already are. They also (quietly in the footnotes) say that businesses should provide a bit more sponsorship and a few more bursaries (the number of which you can count on one hand, with spare fingers).

Sorry but, am I the only person who has woken up in some alternate reality where students and their parents are all unable to get out of bed without a ladder because of the huge piles of £50 notes they have instead of a mattress? Because that seems to be the general idea to me, and it's total, complete and utter crap. As a student I get pretty much the full grant and loans because of my parents low financial status, which totals approximately £6,300 to last me the 36 weeks per year at university and whilst I am at home over the holidays. That works out at a sum of £175 per week to live on.

Why don't the CBI buisinesses instead, give out LOTS (not one or two) more scholarships to students who agree to be contracted to them after university, and why don't they take some of their sickeningly huge profits and invest in Universities charitably (although due to the gravity of the situation I am grudgingly open to the prospect of this being on a loan or exchange - but not PURCHASE - basis)? The answer is they won't because they don't want to. They all weren't charged tuition fees when they were at University and lived off generous grants, bursaries and scholarships. Why should these greedy fat-cats give anything back? This is capitalism at its most decadent!

Now, when one considers that my (very cheap!) acommodation is £68 per week, and I spend approximately another £40 on food, clothes and non inclusive bills (phone, TV etc), this leaves me a total of £72 per week on which to live. Doesn't sound too bad does it?! Now add up the cost of books (minimum £300 per academic year, robbing bleeders!), learning materials and photocopying/printing, travel and transport, hidden costs of getting medical care etc, this totals another (based on last years receipts) about £15, leaving me a grand total of £57 per week what you might call 'disposible income'.

Take this away and I have no ability to exist beyond university. I cannot socialise with my friends, I cannot afford to even FIND a job (the lack of which is another problem in the current climate which compounds student poverty). The whole point of University is to make a better future for yourself, and for the society in which you live, isn't it? Stripping students of this help, especially when the vast majority of whom have no other financial support (including like me little or none from my parents, who are themselves struggling), is not only lunacy. It is plain wrong.

When you take the basic state pension (£95.25 per week for a single person) and add all the other benefits - fuel allowences, pension credit etc, you find that students are only on marginally more than pensioners, and this is arguably made up by the costs of healthcare and housing and such.

No one would ever dare to advocate cutting the state pension or benefits to the elderly, and quite rightly so! So why is it so easy - and almost desireable - to turn on students who are in a similar financial position. This will continue as long as students don't take a stand and fight for what we need. This will continue as long as we allow imbeciles like Wes Streeting and the NUS to 'defend' us so meekly, only to roll over when something of their political persuasion comes along in an effort to further their own selfish careerist desires.

This will even contunue if we pretend that the NUS's right-wing undemocratic "funding blueprint" will save us with things like graduate taxes. Why should someone who goes to a decent main-stream university and get a job earning £50-80k a year at their peak pay the same as an OxBridge graduate who leaves university and gets a top rung job earning hundreds of thousands or even millions of pounds per year? Especially when they have had ten times the amount of help and resources in terms of their university and (mostly, but not universally) class background, with infinately better job prospects despite being no better or more intelligent that you or I.

To quote Danny from 'Brassed Off' in a slightly different context: "The point is - if this lot (students) were seals or whales, you'd all be up in bloody arms. But their not, are they, no, no they're not. They're just ordinary common-or-garden honest, decent human beings."

It's time we stood up and were counted. We are the future of Britain, and the future of humanity. Let's go out and be vocal about where the CBI can put its proposals!