National Demonstration against HE Bill happening today

A demonstration against the Higher Education (HE) Bill will be held this weekend, 19 November. Students across the country will be coming together for the “United for Education” demo to protest proposed changes to the HE system.

The HE Bill includes plans to increase university fees beyond £9,000 a year dependent on performance against a new Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).

It also plans to increase competition in the HE sector by allowing private providers to enter the market without Students’ Unions.

Following the second reading of the Bill on 19 July, an emergency demonstration was held with students descending on parliament square. Many held placards with the slogan “Education not Marketisation.”

The upcoming demonstration is being supported by the National Union of Students (NUS) and the University and College Union (UCU).

According to a joint statement released by the parties: “The demonstration will represent a rallying call for free, accessible and quality further and higher education across the UK, and to demand an end to the marketisation of university and college education.”

They added: “The demonstration will also represent a call for international solidarity and opposition to all forms of racism and xenophobia.”

Nat Panda, Warwick SU Postgraduate Officer, told the Boar: “Over 100 Warwick students are attending the National Demo to march alongside thousands of other students and lecturers and stand up against this government’s disastrous education reforms.

“The proposed Higher Education policies promise to increase tuition fees even further, expedite the marketisation of Higher Education, and serve to primarily benefit for-profit private providers.”

He added: “Last year Warwick students voted overwhelmingly to oppose these changes, and ever since we have been making students’ opposition known to the university and government at every opportunity.

“However, it is only through a taking collective stand that our voices will truly be heard and that we will ultimately defeat these reforms.”

The Warwick Students’ Union have also organised transportation for students who would like to attend the demonstration this Saturday.