Socialist Party Wales Socialism In Wales
Socialist students in Swansea and Bangor universities have called rent strikes against the rip-off of students by the university bosses. Students are being charged full £9000 fees and rent despite being prevented from attending lectures or university by the Covid crisis.
A Swansea Socialist Student explains:
“Since moving to university in September, students at Swansea university have been treated as a reliable source of income by the university, rather than students.
“We were moved to Swansea during a pandemic, when the university was fully aware that we would either rarely access campus, or not access it at all. Most students at the university could’ve undertaken the first term from their laptop at home, and the upcoming term will be no different. We have seen students having extortionate rent costs being syphoned out of their already criminally low maintenance loans, for a service we don’t require.
“As we head into a new lockdown, it is clear that on-campus learning will be minimal. Conflicting advice from the UK government and the Welsh governments has caused great confusion among students, and the university have remained shockingly silent.
“Amidst all this a student mental health crisis is raging. For years, mental health support nationally has been cut to the bone, and the pandemic has revealed the effects of this. Forced away from home unnecessarily, many students have struggled with the isolation of the pandemic, and lack of social interaction outside of their accommodation bubble.
“All this to line the pockets of the university. At the same time, students have been set difficult January deadlines, with no access to on-campus support for assignments and no-help over Christmas. This comes at a time when the university plan on making huge redundancies across departments.
“This means that whilst students cough up £9,000 a year in fees and thousands more in rent, the university is actively cutting staff numbers and lowering the quality of our courses. We support the our staff and the UCU in their fight against these redundancies.
“The government and university vice-chancellors have taken students for granted throughout this crisis. We will not pay. We call for students to withhold rent from the university. We plan to work with university rent strike groups around the country, of which there are now over 45. In numbers, we will win!”
Socialist Students demand:
- A mass rent refund for students
- Complete cancellation of rent for this term for students unable to move into halls and government funding to plug the funding gap
- For the right of students in private housing to cancel their contracts – Compensation to the landlords only on the basis of proven need
- For the election of a Swansea University Pandemic Advisory Group made up of Students and Workers
- A fair evaluation of the situation next term regarding accommodation and lockdown
- Funding support for mental health services
- Clear guidance to students regarding the new lockdown, direct from the university
Socialist Students Also Call For:
- Democratically set rents, decided on by elected committees including students
- For democratic control and oversight of health and safety by democratically elected committees made up of campus unions, workers and students
- Build a national student movement to fight for the funding our universities need
- Scrap the market model and fight for free, high quality education for all
To get involved with the rent strike please fill out this form:
