Plan to make students pay
Socialist Organiser1983 1983-01-06Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 2 →
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Glory minister Boyson by Dave Spencer Spencer The US Air Force bomber idea thing now mrith WILl IT'S not really surprising that the Government's latest package of proposals on student support should include a move to replace grants with loans. It's even less surprising that the proposal is a dilution of Tory education minister Rhodes Boyson's original proposals, and comes mingled with other seemingly generous alterations - it's election year.
They've been floating thefor years, as part of idea to privatise everythat moves, and they seem set to go ahead making students pay moline otindante nov education.
The plan at present seems to be a half grant, halt loans system, therefore attecting those students who receive most grant, or whose parents • wouldn't/couldn't contribute. Those, of to tie themselves to a loan which would take many years to pay back. Higher Danation tharafaro ho- Education, therefore, vecomes more of a privilege, and less accessible to working class youth.
Would you do a course, to lan fooed with navina far m Ne a A it years into the tuture (at the same time being taxed to pay for education)?
A future officer class in the forces would be all right, of course, as would those aspuring technocrats who could gain multinational company sponsorship for their courses. With the existing bias against women on such science courses, they would be further squeezed out, and such organisations would begin to fulfill a real selective role within higher education.
The fight against loans must extend ' beyond the resolutinn-nassing annroach of NUS and many student unions, and must be built around joint-action with campus trade unions and the grant for the further education students that university and polytechnic students so often forget. We must make it clear we want a free, nonmeans tested grant for all over-16s in education, and free access to education for all over 16.
The future for education looks bleak, but with loans it looks desolate. This issue is one we simply cannot afford - either politically or financially - to lose.
Simon Pottinger
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course, whose parents could afford to pay, wouldn't need