Zakk Brown, Manchester Socialist Students

Universities UK – representing vice-chancellors – has called for student maintenance grants to be reintroduced to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis that we face. Our rent and bills are rising, but inadequate maintenance loans have failed to rise alongside this. Socialist Students says that maintenance grants are a solid alternative to higher loan repayments, and are fairer to working-class students.

VC pay

Where could the money come from? Are university vice-chancellors willing to part with their salaries, reaching above £250,000 a year, to aid the students who pay their wages? Not likely.

Socialist Students says take the wealth from the super-rich to not just fund student grants, but a 100% publicly owned education system. This would mean higher wages for staff, rent control, better university facilities, proper funding in subjects like the arts, and free tuition. No more punishing students from lower-income families with longer and harsher loan repayments, simply because they couldn’t afford to pay up front for an education.

NUS

How can students fight for this? Currently the only thing that the National Union of Students (NUS) is organising to demand action on the student cost-of-living crisis is a letter to the Tory education secretary. It doesn’t even call for maintenance grants! A letter to a Tory minister simply isn’t enough.

A mass movement of students, linking up with workers striking for a pay rise this autumn, like the University and College Union (UCU) balloting for action, can win maintenance grants that actually cover the cost of living. This is the movement Socialist Students is fighting to build.

Socialist Students says:

• For living grants tied to the rate of inflation, not loans and debt. Cancel student debt – no to the lowering of the student debt repayment threshold!
• No to rent increases or bill increases being passed onto students. For third party accommodation to be taken over by the university as a step towards the introduction of democratically set rent controls.
• No to price rises on campuses and to course closures. Build a national student movement to fight for the full funding our campuses need and free education.
• Solidarity with the strikes – students and workers unite!
• Make the rich pay for the cost of living crisis. Bring the energy companies, the banks and monopolies into democratic public ownership to provide us with a future.