“Universities have decided to let students graduate without grades, random grades or in some cases not graduate at all because they are more concerned with smashing the union than with students experience or education.”
By Apsana Begum MP
Sadly, this summer, some students at UK universities may not receive their grades because of a marking boycott by staff, affecting exams and assessments.
The boycott is part of action being taken by members of the University and College Union (UCU) at 145 UK institutions, in a dispute over pay and working conditions. This is because the reality is that staff and students are demoralised about the future of higher education itself.
Soaring insecure employment and excessive workloads are flourishing alongside cost-cutting measures and increasing managerialism. Staff have more and more pressure on their time, their mental health and wellbeing.
The value of staff pay has fallen by more than a quarter since 2009 – with equality pay gaps meaning women, black and minority ethnic and disabled staff being hit even harder.
The failure of university employers to address staff’s grievances has driven a series of industrial disputes – with record numbers of higher education staff taking part in an unprecedented programme of escalating strikes. The UCU also have embarked on a marking and assessment boycott.
Employers are not only imposing an unfair pay deal – many are also disgracefully cutting 50-100% of staff wages for taking part in the marking and assessment boycott.
Universities have decided to let students graduate without grades, random grades or in some cases not graduate at all because they are more concerned with smashing the union than with students experience or education.
We must all stand in solidarity with workers in higher education who are campaigning for a fair pay rise, and for actions to address inequality in the university.
We know that industrial action which impacts on students is never taken lightly, but only because people feel that they have been left with no alternative.
I applaud those workers who have refused to be bullied into accepting gig economy conditions or to accept employers imposing punitive pay deductions.
We are facing a systemic crisis. The Tories want universities to be treated as private businesses – left at the mercy of market forces, while top salaries soar, and students pay more for less.
It is clear: the failed free-market experiment in higher education needs to be ended and tuition fees abolished. There needs to be investment in a national education service so everyone can learn at every stage of their lives.
This includes properly valuing the teachers, researchers and administrators who are the backbone of our universities and key to providing high quality education.
This could be paid for by progressive taxation e.g., by raising tax on higher earners (the top 5% as per the Labour Manifesto 2019) and tackling corporate waste and tax avoidance.
Education should be a right not a privilege – not something to be bought and sold. We all benefit collectively from higher education – from the engineers, nurses, doctors, teachers, and scientists that our universities produce.
Investing in education, is about investing in our future.
- Apsana Begum is the MP for Poplar and Limehouse and a regular contributor to Labour Outlook. You can follow Apsana on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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