Issue 148

Admission: Impossible

06th November 2006

On 29 October, 150 Swansea students, along with many other students around the country, trekked to London in a united demonstration of condemnation of the governments plans to further increase the cap on top-up fees.

Wales, as a whole, provided a good majority of those present at the march with students from Aberystwyth, Cardiff, Trinity, Swansea and Swansea Institute coming together for the demonstration. Nottingham, Birmingham, Queen Mary's, Central Lancashire, and Essex, to name a few, also joined the march about the possible eradication of the £3,000 cap on fees. The protest rally consisted of a two and a half hour march to Trafalgar Square, a balloon release and an adaptation of the speech from the film Independence Day to enthuse the crowd.

The NUS fear that with entry fees to universities gradually rising due to the government's additional fees, fewer students would go on to further education. The NUS are concerned that the burden of student debt that follows them after graduating from university will act as a deterrent. UCAS have found that there was a 3.7% drop in university admissions in 2006. Although this percentage seems small, it would equate to 15,000 students. An ICM poll, commissioned by the NUS also found that three in every four students find tuition fees a significant deterrent in the quest for higher education.

Notwithstanding that the march was considered a peaceful protest, there were also minority groups who veered on to protest the war on Iraq. These outbreaks, "disrupted the flow of everything" - Owen Morgan, Student Union President. But both the Education Officer and the Student Union President wished to give a "big shout out to all who made it up at 6am. It was great to see so many students bopping around London., standing up for something they feel strongly about".

The top-up fee debate was introduced in 2004 due to universities request for more funding. Although a march was organized for the original debate the government proceeded with installing the top-up fees. Stuart "Chugga" Jones, Education Officer of Swansea University, was asked whether he thought that the march would be recognized, commented that, "We definitely got the message across. I believe that the event was a great success. Eveything ran smoothly and it was well organised. Swansea university had a huge presence at the march."

It is estimated that about 7,000 students across the UK attended the protest march. The march continued despite fears that with it being a Sunday there would not be much coverage by the media. In fact the Swansea Love Chicken even made an appearance on Sky News.

Emma Rogers