URGENT and bold action is needed to support higher education and university students through the Coronavirus pandemic, says the MP for Coventry South.
Labour MP Zarah Sultana wrote to Universities Minister Michelle Donelan MP, alongside Coventry UCU, Coventry University Students’ Union, Warwick UCU, Warwick Students’ Union, and University of Warwick Unison.
The letter highlights pressing issues facing higher education institutions, including funding shortfalls and jobs losses, and it notes the effects the Coronavirus pandemic has had on university students, especially working class and marginalised students.
The letter calls for an overhaul of university funding to redirect finance away from senior management and capital expenditure, public funding to cover any remaining financial shortfall, a jobs guarantee for university staff, and a ‘Student Safety Net’ including rent suspensions for students and maintenance grants to support working class students.
The letter concludes with a call for public funding and an end to fees in place of a ‘failed marketised model’, and democratic participation of staff and students in the running of their institutions.
Zarah Sultana said: “Coventry and Warwick universities make a huge contribution to our city’s economy and culture, but like universities across the country they are facing an unprecedented crisis. The Coronavirus pandemic is accelerating damage done by years of underfunding, marketisation and deteriorating working conditions for staff.
“Urgent, bold action is needed to protect our universities and to build a higher education system that works for students, staff, and the public as a whole.”
Myka Tucker-Abramson, Warwick UCU Chair, said: “Since Warwick University announced it is making £50million in cuts, fixed-term staff have already lost hours and even their jobs and there are threats of more wide-spread redundancies.
“Warwick University is a major employer in the region and without urgent government action, the whole region will suffer.”
Chloe Batten, Warwick Students’ Union Education Officer, said: “With high tuition fees, rising rent prices and the increasing costs of campus life, Warwick University students were facing financial hardship and ever-mounting debt even before the Coronavirus pandemic.
“Now things are even worse. We need the government to provide a safety net for students and guarantee university funding and staffing.”
