In her first column for EducationGuardian.co.uk, Gemma Tumelty, the new president of the National Union of Students, calls for Alan Johnson to be more convincing in his arguments for tuition fees.
Dear Alan,
Summer 2006 sees the start of my year as the president of the National Union of Students (NUS). But it will be etched on my mind, and that of the collective student body, as the time that top-up fees are about to be introduced in England. When fees arrive on campus in September, 13,000 students won't. Deterred by fees, they may never have the opportunities I had as a student.
So you'll excuse us if your statement that "students will learn to love top-up fees" was a little hard to swallow.
I suppose we should be pleased that you've reignited the debate. While public opinion is still on our side, I thought getting the arguments for free education and against the lifting of the £3,000 "cap" back on the agenda would be difficult.
Parliament is still exhausted from the 2004 debate and the government's near defeat. The next parliamentary debate about fees won't take place until after the independent commission reports on the system in 2009. But if you want to start the public debate early, the NUS will rise to the challenge.
Three years on and NUS is older, wiser and harder. The campaign against fees is active from the grassroots up, we are investing in research, lobbying political parties and - along with other partners - continuing to build Coalition 2010 against the lifting of the £3,000 cap on fees.
The past month has yielded more evidence. Forty-seven per cent of sixth-formers questioned by the universities marketing forum said that an inability to afford fees was likely to put them off a degree. A Target 10,000 study of state school students found that 27% were less likely to go to university because of £3,000 fees and the Guardian's very own Grad Facts report found that 34% of final-year undergraduates surveyed wouldn't have gone to university with £3,000 top-up fees. Ask these students if they'll "learn to love fees". I'd like to hear their responses.
As the salesman of top-up fees, you'll no doubt remember our arguments from last time around. But just in case you've forgotten, I'll remind you why we keep fighting. Education does not just benefit the individual, it benefits society. Fact. Education is key in helping social mobility and breaking down inequality. As the cost mounts, the likelihood of education remaining a preserve of the middle and upper classes increases too. It's not rocket science. If the government wants to widen access to university it needs to rethink this regressive and elitist higher education funding policy.
So here's a challenge for you, Alan. Thousands of students will take to the streets on October 29 to protest against at least £20,000 worth of debt. Do you and Gordon Brown want a debate? Let it start there. Come and convince them. If not, retract your statement.
Gemma Tumelty
NUS national president
