Student Rights

EDM number 1580 in 1993-94, proposed by Michael Connarty on 17/10/1994.

That this House notes with disgust the latest Government attack on student finances; particularly notes the recent announcement of a rolling 10 per cent. cut in the student grant from a base value already frozen since 1989, the results of which, with previous cuts, will lead to increased student poverty and hardship, reductions in subject and institutional choice and increased pressures to opt for shorter and more vocationally oriented courses; supports the view that automatic membership of student unions allows the provision of important welfare and social services which are even more crucial now that student hardship is becoming the norm rather than the exception; and reaffirms its view that education is a right and not a privilege and in particular that adequate national funding from general taxation is essential to maintain quality and standards; and calls on the Government to consult NUS(UK) and NUS(Scotland) on the issues of student grants and student unions.

This motion has been signed by a total of 60 MPs.