28 days to save profitable course that faces closure because it does not fit “business model”

January 13, 2012 By 1 Comment

There is now only 28 days left to save this unique course. As environmentalists and anti-cuts activists we should all get behind this; it is essentially a case study of all the changes we stand against in the education sector. This is a market in education destroying a valuable course. This articulates in practice all that is wrong about the white paper.

This is a market in education destroying a valuable course. This articulates in practice all that is wrong about the white paper.

This is a course that is; valuable to the UK economy, which is helping conserve the environment and which is a profitable course for the University of Birmingham to run. Yet it is being closed because it does not fit the universities “research profile” because it is not a research intensive department.

Only one other institution in the entire country teaches these skillsl and both of these courses are oversubscribed. These skills are immensely valuable to conservation work and specialists have warned that its closure will lead to a “skills gap”. The Institute for Ecology and Environmental Matters (IEEM) the professional body that represents and supports ecologists and environmental mangers has condemned the closure for this reason.

There is a high demand for graduates from this profitable course and they nearly all go on to work in the sector.  Worse still as pointed by the IEEM in their report “closing the gap”   there is a growing gap in skills in this sector as the government and the EU create more jobs. Both The IEEM and Plantlife  have expressed concerned that this closure means that the demand naturalists with the necessary field skills won’t be met.

I met the students on the course this week and they have an incredible community, are dedicated to the course and are extremely angry. They are right to be angry, this course is perfectly profitable and is being closed as it does not fit in with the universities “business model”.

To summarize the need Biological recording is now widely regarded as vital for biodiversity processes within Britain; this course closure will affect this valuable work. On another level to close such a useful and economically valuable course because it won’t fit in with the “research profile” that a university is trying to create for the market is abhorrent and above all stupid.

Please all sign this petition and spread and share also if you can get any high profile endorsements against the closure that would be great .

Filed Under: Events, Higher Education, Press, Uncategorized

10,000 demonstrators kick start student fightback

November 9, 2011 By 4 Comments

10,000 students from across the country demonstrated in London today on the national demonstration against cuts to education and public services organised by the NCAFC. [Read more...]

Filed Under: East, Higher Education, international, London, North, Press, Regions, Reports, Schools & FE, South, Student Unions, Trade Unions, Uncategorized

Statement on Charlie Gilmour’s injustice

October 29, 2011 By 5 Comments

The rejection of Charlie Gilmour’s appeal yesterday does nothing but confirm what we had already suspected after his initial sentencing: the political victimisation of yet another individual, and an attempt to strike back at the student movement by a state which fears it might lose control.

Charlie was dealt a 16-month custodial sentence for “violent disorder” at the NCAFC-called London demonstration on December 9, 2010. In fact he hurt no one, unlike an unknown number of police officers on that day and on many others. We note that not one single police officer has been summoned for brutalising demonstrators, let alone sentenced.

Charlie’s actions on 9/12/10 would normally be described as “antics” when in reference to the activity of David Cameron’s alma mater, the Bullingdon Club. It is clear then that Charlie’s actual crime was to have been part of a strong and militant student movement. His imprisonment is entirely political, as is the decision to uphold his sentence.

The fact that Frank Fernie’s recent appeal was rightly upheld but Charlie’s was not is further proof of the extent to which the judiciary panders to tabloid smear-campaigning. The corruption of the system is equalled only by our contempt for it.

We will not forget the political sentencing of protesters like Charlie Gilmour, Frank Fernie, and Edward Woollard. When we march on November 9th, we will be marching for them too.

The National Campaign Against Fees & Cuts extends its regards to the friends and family of all the sentenced protesters, who likewise suffer from this twisted idea of “justice”.

NCAFC
anticuts.com

For further information, please contact againstfeesandcuts@gmail.com

Filed Under: Events, Press, Reports
January 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

PRESS STATEMENT NCAFC Jan 29 Demo

Filed Under: Press Tagged With: , ,

BBC News article on EMA protests

January 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A useful article from the BBC News site.

Students protest over axed EMA support allowance

Students have held protests at about 30 schools and colleges in England against the scrapping of the EMA study support grant, campaigners say.

The protests come a day before MPs are due to vote on a Labour motion calling on the government to rethink its plan.

The government says the allowances of up to £30 a week for low-income students aged 16-19 are wasteful.

But a college lecturers union said 70% of the poorest students would drop out if it were cut.

Education Maintenance Allowances were introduced by Labour to encourage young people from deprived backgrounds to stay in education and training after they reach 16.

Students whose parents’ earnings fall below certain thresholds receive payments of £10, £20 or £30 a week.

These can be spent however the student chooses, and used by many students to cover the cost of course equipment, books and transport.

‘Tough decisions’

Walk-outs and demonstrations took place at colleges around England on Tuesday.

The University and College Union said it knew of about 30 lunchtime protests that had taken place, in colleges ranging from London, to Liverpool, to Newcastle and Cornwall.

One of the biggest was at Dudley College, where several hundred students rallied, some in fancy dress.

Students in Leeds were planning to hold a silent protest later in the day, while young people at City College Norwich were to light a candle for every student at the college who receives EMA.

Click to play

Click to play

Andy Burnham and Graham Stuart on the Education Maintenance Allowance

A protest and lobbying of MPs is also planned for central London on Wednesday, as the issue is raised in an opposition day debate.

The government says the £560m programme is “hugely expensive” and wasteful, pointing to research suggesting that 90% of students receiving EMA would continue with their courses with the grants.

But research conducted by the University and College Union, published on Tuesday, suggested that 70% of students in the poorest areas would drop out of college if their EMA was stopped.

UCU polled more than 700 students, in the the 30 colleges and schools with the highest proportion of students receiving EMA in England.

Also, 38% of those polled said they would not have started their courses without EMA, while 63% said they received no financial support from their family for college costs.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the UCU said the government’s decisions over the EMA had been a “complete shambles”.

“First they pledged they would not axe it, now they say they will.

“They clearly have no understanding of how important the EMA is or the difference it makes to so many people’s chances of improving themselves,” she said.

The government says it has had to make “tough decisions” because of the state of public finances.

It will now support the most needy students through a discretionary fund administered by colleges, which it has said it hopes to triple from its current level of £26m.

The government also points out that local authorities have a statutory obligation to make sure that transport is not a barrier to students’ education.

Filed Under: Press, Uncategorized

National demonstration – 29 January 2011, London

December 15, 2010 By 60 Comments

The first parliamentary vote might have gone through, but this is not the end! That is why, in the absence of action by NUS, the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts has called a second national demonstration in London, on Saturday 29 January. [Read more...]

Filed Under: East, Events, Finance, Government, Higher Education, international, London, North, Press, Regions, Reports, Schools & FE, South, Student Unions, Trade Unions

NCAFC warns supporters not to attend 20/12 “March of Resistance”

December 15, 2010 By 4 Comments

The National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts is aware of its responsibilities vis-à-vis its supporters and the students, workers, activists and families who take part in our events in protest at the coalition’s policies of cuts and marketisation in the education sector. In light of this, the NCAFC would like to issue the following warning:

It has come to our attention that an event organised and publicised by a group calling itself the UK People’s Initiative for December 20th, the “March of Resistance”, briefly claimed our support (and used our logo!) We never supported this event and we would like to warn those considering attending that there are concerns over the motives and politics of the UK People’s Initiative. Indeed, suggestions have been made that the UK People’s Initiative may be linked to far right groups, although these remain unconfirmed. The organisers have repeatedly failed to respond to requests for information and clarification.

As an organisation we strongly distance ourselves from this event – in the absence of any further information by the organisers in relation to health and safety and the identity of the people behind the group. We have further concerns in relation to the proposed apolitical location of the event, at a time when Piccadilly Circus will be brimming with tourists and Londoners going about their Christmas shopping.

Demonstrations, actions and events organized by the NCAFC (and its affiliated groups) are debated and voted on in large and democratically run meetings; we also participate in broader forums with organisations including Coalition of Resistance, the EAN and ULU, for instance the London Student Assembly. This is an important process as it ensures that we debate and consider different perspectives and discuss health and safety.

Please spread these concerns widely.

National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts

The NCAFC is organising a national demonstration in London on 29 January: see here.

Filed Under: Press, Regions Tagged With: , ,

Some (more) Press Coverage

December 14, 2010 By 2 Comments


ABC News (13 December 2010)


BBC News (11 December 2010)

Filed Under: Higher Education, Press, Videos Tagged With: , , ,

Press Statement – Police Violence and Vote on Tuition Fee Increase

December 9, 2010 By 41 Comments

The National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts utterly condemns the violence inflicted on demonstrators by the police on the 9th of December national demonstration in central London and reiterate that the passing of the bill on the tuition fee increase will not deter, nor discourage future actions.

The coalition government managed to pass the tuition fee increase by 21 votes only – a sign of how weak the government is and that it can be beaten.  Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, suffered a huge blow to his leadership policies as 21 of his MPs rebelled against the tuition fee increase.

The resistance will continue in the new year. The National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts, as well as thousands of students across the country, will not give in until these cuts and fee increases are stopped.

Mounted police charging and ‘kettling’ of protesters are disgusting attacks on people’s right to protest and cannot be justified. The demonstration was militant but good natured as thousands assembled in Parliament square. The police adopted a hands-off approach until around 15.30h when ‘kettling’ began, followed by increasingly violent assaults on students.

The police attacked protesters, journalists and even a demonstrator in a wheel chair, dragging him across the ground. Many people were hospitalised and at the time of writing (23.30h) many people were still contained in Westminster, a cruel form of collective punishment for defying the government.

Filed Under: Documents, Higher Education, London, Press, Videos Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

PRESS STATEMENT: Met scaremongering ahead of tomorrow’s London protests

December 8, 2010 By 5 Comments

The National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts is concerned about the latest press release by the Metropolitan Police, which could discourage many students and other members of the public from taking part in tomorrow’s protests against the tuition fees rise.

We have met with the Metropolitan Police several times in order to coordinate the march to Westminster and have been helpful and forthcoming with information about the number of students expected and the route.

  • It is unacceptable that, in a democratic nation like ours, that elected politicians can turn their backs on promises they made.
  • It is worrying that, consequently, governmental institutions like the Met, proceed to restrict protests against such politicians via scaremongering and alarmism.

With several thousand students travelling to London to protest, it is the Metropolitan Police’s duty to engage with citizens andfacilitate non-violent protests. However, the latest statements by Commander Bob Broadhurst, head of the Met’s Public Order Branch, resemble rather scare tactics that tendentially lead to misinformation and silence the public.

We encourage parents, guardians, teachers and all other members of the community to join us in the march on Thursday, 9th of December 2010.

We encourage all to take an active role as stewards, guarding both younger children, as well as the democratic right of future generations to protest in this country.

We hope to see a more positive and cooperative attitude from the Metropolitan Police on their future public statements.

Filed Under: Documents, London, Press Tagged With: , , , , , ,
« Older Posts