Background & rationale

The coalition government may have shelved its plans for an HE Bill, however the fight to stop the Government from selling off our education goes on. Many of the most damaging reforms the government wants to push through do not actually require legislation, and would never have been included in the bill anyway. The government is therefore still able to push ahead with its proposed reforms, and can potentially continue to do so without scrutiny or opportunity to defeat. NUS wants a public debate on the issues - out in the open rather than behind closed doors.

At the beginning of the year NUS consulted the membership on what our campaigning priorities for the year ahead should be. Invaluable feedback from members helped to shape NUS’ policy objectives and campaign tactics for the term ahead. These tactics include:

Week of action: Monday 12th – Friday 16th March: To take place on campuses across the country to demonstrate to VCs and principals that high fees, hidden course costs and a lack of bursaries are pricing students out of education, that postgraduate students need a better deal, and that students will not stand by and let the coalition government press ahead with its destructive plans to sell off and privatise our universities and colleges. We want openness on course costs and openness on the future of our education system.

National walkout: Wednesday 14th March: In the middle of the week of action a national walkout will take place on campuses across the country. Students will boycott lectures and instead get involved in local on campus activities to demonstrate their opposition to the coalition government’s plans to destroy our higher education system.

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• Lobby of parliament: 18 April:
The HE Bill may be no more, however the issues remain and we cannot let the government push their damaging reform proposals through behind closed doors. Many MPs will not have been following the HE debate as closely as students have, therefore together we need to educate our MPs about the issues so that they can question the Minister on our behalf about the backdoor changes, and have the debate out in the open. 

A more detailed briefing designed to help students’ unions generate ideas for a range of local actions that are appropriate to your institution to take place during the week of action and national walkout will be issued next week. Your action on campuses will be supported by a range of online campaigning actions developed by NUS nationally. A ‘How to lobby your MP’ briefing ill also be issued in preparation for the lobby of parliament.

Why the Week of Action?

With a range of actions taking place on every campus across the country, students will be sending a clear signal to vice chancellors and principals that they will not stand by and quietly watch as their education is diminished.

Creative, highly visual actions, will capture the attention of local media, MPs, would-be students, parents, and the general public, and show that people will not tolerate this coalition government destroying our higher education system as we know it, behind closed doors with no parliamentary mandate.

Why the national Walkout?

With students unions across the country mobilising students to walkout of lectures en masse, we will send a clear message to the coalition government. Students’ unions will be able to develop a range of actions that their students want to take, but the aim is clear: let’s clear out the lecture theatres, seminar rooms, IT suites and libraries.

The walkout will show the government what campuses will look like if they continue to press ahead with their plans for privatisation and pricing students out of education – deserted. The last time there was a national walkout it was a huge success, with campuses coming to a standstill across the UK, sending a clear message to parliament. Let’s do it again – bigger and better.

How should students’ unions begin to prepare for the walkout?

• It’s vital for SUs to secure agreement from the institution that students will not be academically penalised for this action - as is their right. 
• Contact your local UCU and other staff trade union branches, as well as heads of department - to inform them of the action and enlist their support.
• Turn the SU into a campaign headquarters - plan protest activities to take place on the day, and encourage students to call into the SU to take part.
• Organise pickets outside academic buildings - where practical work with your local trade union reps to encourage students and lecturers to gather outside entrances to academic buildings and persuade fellow students and colleagues to boycott lectures. NUS is not able to sanction any attempts to stop normal activities, such as deliveries of goods, entrance of staff or any physical attempts to force students not to enter college buildings. More detailed information on the legal situation on pickets will be included in a forthcoming briefing.
• Further briefings on how to organise and build for these events to follow...