Warwick students join the fight for free education

Students from Warwick University will join thousands of others from across the UK to take to the streets of central London in protest to the ongoing privatization of higher education on November 19.

This is the first time since the 2010 fee rise that students have the support of the national union of students (NUS) in a nation-wide rally.

Students will assemble under the message “no fees – no cuts – no debt”.

The demonstration has been preceded by a wave of local and direct action amongst university students, led by a coalition of student groups including the National Campaign Against Fees And Cuts and The Student Assembly Against Austerity.

Kirsty Haigh, NUS Scotland vice president, commented: “With a general election in May, we will be putting free education onto the political agenda, not by softening our position but by making our ideas impossible to ignore.”

Clifford Fleming, co-chair of the Young Greens, remarked that: “Years of tuition fees have lumbered millions with debt, and the system isn’t working. We need an open, accessible, free education system that supports those from all backgrounds.”

Whilst Aaron Kiely, from the Student Assembly Against Austerity, has insisted that “When the Tories say there is not enough money for free education, they are lying”.

Warwick students will be among those expressing dissatisfaction with the current fee regime.

Warwick Students’ Union and Coventry Students’ Union have joined forces to subsidise buses to the demonstration.

Warwick for Free Education commented: “The campaign for free education unites students. When you’re giving out flyers on campus you can tell that Warwick students hate fees.

“All of us want a better future without fees and without debt. Warwick students are stepping up to the plate and campaigning for the future they want.”

Alex Rosseti, a first- year Discrete Mathematics undergraduate, added: “We are students, not consumers.

“Education should be a right; knowledge shouldn’t be restricted on financial grounds, and students shouldn’t be forced to live their lives saddled with debt they can’t pay back.”

Warwick’s University and College Union (UCU) has agreed to fund the expedition in an act expressing solidarity with the students.