Seb Miell was responding to claims that Aaron Porter has failed in his job as president of the National Union of Students, after failing to stop tuition fees from being trebled.
Miell was quick to defend the outgoing president: “I think NUS leadership was very good this year. It's been a very difficult year. He's been shoved into the spotlight more than other NUS presidents would have been.”
Aaron Porter, 26, led students through an ultimately unsuccessful campaign to stop the coalition government from raising tuition fees.
He is to stand down as head of the NUS after a turbulent few months which saw students hit the streets to campaign against a proposed raise in tuition fees
The decision comes after increased pressure from students within the organisation. The student president has suffered abuse in recent months and had to be escorted from a protest by police.
Planned protests in November descended into chaos when protestors stormed Conservative headquarters at Millbank Tower. Porter attempted to distance the NUS from the violence, but in doing so attracted criticism from more radical students.
Much of the anger was directed at the coalition government. Liberal Democrat leaders came under criticism for going back on a pre-election pledge not to raise fees.
When asked about Porter's decision to step down, Isabel Heslop, a student at Winchester University, said: “Because of the bad organisation and the violence at the protest, maybe it's a good idea.”
In his blog Porter said that it was a “tragedy” that many aspiring students will now decide that higher education is not for them and that the new president will face big challenges getting a good deal for students.
Aaron Porter's successor will be appointed this April at the NUS National Conference.
No comments:
Post a Comment