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Come Clean Week

The 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. Government needs to come clean on student funding.

This is what we plan to do:

Week of action: Monday 12 March - Friday 16 March

To take place on campuses across the country and 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 institutions to come clean on course costs and the government to come clean on the future of our education system.

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

National walkout: Wednesday 14 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.

With students' unions across the country mobilising students to walkout of lectures en masse, 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.

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 come clean on student funding.

Take action now!

Make sure you contact your students' union and find out what local actions are being planned for the Come Clean week of action and national walkout on your campus.

(content courtesy of NUS)

Download the come clean week mp letter