As students unions across the country prepare to march on London this Wednesday, they will do so under the new slogan devised by the National Union of Students (NUS) – “Educate, Employ, Empower”.
In the hope that this protest will recapture the energy of the student movement after its speedy demise in 2010, the NUS has thus far attempted to limit the possibilities of violence through framing the protests around attaining a ‘fair deal’ for students. As articulately put by YUSU president Kallum Taylor, “Whatever your politics are, it doesn’t matter. All students want value for money”. Yet, rather than a means of empowerment, such aims may instead further weaken both the credibility of the NUS, and the wider student movement itself.
There are two main reasons why, despite a high turnout of student activists, Wednesday’s protest is unlikely to realise its objectives. First relates to the increasing politicisation of NUS, whereby since 2010, the organisation has done little in terms of developing a coherent structure to which it can effectively organise students. Instead, the focus on the betrayal of the Liberal Democrats and the Coalition Government has reduced the organisation’s public image to one that loudly blames others for its tribulations, while simultaneously churning out student politicians and union leaders. Such characterisations are not completely misconstrued – indeed, under the presidency of Aaron Porter, the NUS became much more concerned with political polemics relating to student fees, than on the state of wider student representation. In looking at the first major event of Liam Burns’ presidency, it sadly seems likely that there will be further political positioning within the union.
More important, however, is that an NUS devoid of a progressive direction for the student movement has found itself confined to debating the issue on the Government’s terms. For the NUS, Wednesday’s protest will aim to set out clear demands for a fair and equitable ‘deal’ for students, which will provide them with the end product of paid employment. Additionally, various student unions, including YUSU, have aligned themselves to similar sentiments. Certainly, this is a far cry from 2010, where students collectively argued (both through on campus occupations and the NUS demo) that any attempt to increase the financial cost of education would not only damage the student, but would also risk the integrity of educational institutions themselves. Ultimately, the nature of the debate has shifted, from a discussion on the wider social value of British higher education institutes, to one reduced to how students can maximise their benefit from the costs of university.
The NUS seems to have abandoned efforts to argue the importance of universities in relation to wider social democracy, and has instead accepted the government’s increasing rhetoric, that the institutions of higher education should simply be extensions of a consumer society.
Although Wednesday’s demo will show the vivacity and energy of the national student body, it seems unlikely that it will be concentrated into a clear and coherent oppositional narrative to the government. Indeed, despite the amiable goals of both student unions and the NUS, the demo seems little more than continued political posturing, ultimately designed as an attempt to reassert the credibility of the NUS as a valuable organisation.
No comments:
Post a Comment