Bethan Jenkins AC/AM South Wales West

25/11/08

Before I was elected as an Assembly Member, I played a key role in the student movement in Wales in campaigning against the introduction of top-up fees for Welsh domiciled students. I am proud that the campaign was successful and that the second National Assembly defeated the Government of the day and ruled out top up fees in Wales. The decision was one of the highlights of the post devolution era. It proved that we could do things differently in Wales based on our collective values rather than the market led obsession of Westminster.

I fear that the recommendations of this statement, due to its Anglo-centric paradigm, could undermine this progress in Wales, as it could set a precedent that all future changes in England must result in similar changes in Wales. This has consequences if uncapped top up fees for the top 15 English universities are introduced following the review of the current system in England which will start next year. Will institutions like Cardiff, as part of the Russell group of Universities, insist on charging 5k, 10k, or 15k uncapped fees? Does anyone seriously believe that top up fees will be capped at the current level? The reality is that the acceptance of the key proposal to introduce top up fees could leave Welsh universities and students open to market forces – whereby educational advancement for many may well be determined by ability to pay and not academic ability.

This statement also appears to indicate confusion in the direction of the Welsh Assembly Government. On the one hand universality is promoted in policy areas such as free prescriptions and bus passes for the elderly, yet in the Higher Education sector the government is proposing to end the universality of the current fee grant system, concluding that a larger percentage of Welsh domiciled students will have to pay higher fees after 2011 based on means testing.

I hope that I will be able to work with colleagues in the party in responding to the Government’s consultation which will be announced shortly. I will be especially interested in looking at the idea of a debt write off for students, but as I have not seen the full details of the proposal yet, I will take part in discussion on this via the party’s main response mechanism to the Minister’s consultation. I will seek to ensure that we will not support any proposal that undermines our core principles.