Tuesday 25th May

Eight ships carrying 10,000 tonnes of aid, 800 activists and politicians from more than 40 countries are joining together in a historic attempt to break the illegal siege on Gaza by water.

The cargo onboard the solidarity flotilla includes building materials, medical supplies and paper for schools. One boat is carrying a complete dental surgery including drills. Crayons and chocolate are also on board for Gazan children.

Israel has vowed to prevent the ships, carrying humanitarian aid, from reaching Gaza.

John Ging, head of the main UN agency in Gaza, urged more ships carrying aid to be sent: "We believe that Israel would not stop these vessels because the sea is open, and many human rights organisations have been successful in previous similar steps, and proved that breaking the siege on Gaza is possible."

The UN published a report earlier this week which stated that three-quarters of the damage caused to Gaza's infrastructure during Israel’s 22 day military assault on Gaza has not been repaired because of the blockade.

Student Respect wishes all those onboard the flotilla well and hopes all the aid reaches Gaza safely.

Read Guardian report here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/25/gaza-flotilla-aid-attempt?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Tuesday 25th May 2010

The most reactionary government in decades has taken power with a program that will blight young people’s future for decades. There is a real risk of creating a “lost generation.”

Yesterday the Conservative - Liberal Democrat government cut the higher education budget by £200 million. What does this mean for young people? 10,000 would-be students will be denied the opportunity to go to university this autumn.

Already almost 1 million young people are unemployed. The government’s £6.2 billion cuts announced yesterday, including a civil service jobs freeze, will not make graduates’ prospects of finding work this summer any brighter.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), said: "The Government should stop pretending that 'we're all in this together'. Today it dashed the hopes of thousands of people by halving the number of additional student places at universities this year."

She added: "Students and their families must wonder what they have done to be treated so badly by this coalition Government. First the Lib Dems renege on their flagship policy to fight against fees and now the opportunity of a university education is being restricted.

"Our competitor countries are increasing the number of graduates to compete in a high-skill knowledge economy. We are denying thousands a place at university and increasing the burden on our benefits system."

President of Universities UK - the organization representing Vice-Chancellors - Professor Steve Smith warned that these cuts would be hard to maintain the quality of the student experience.

He said: "Universities are already dealing with the impact of over £1 billion of cuts announced by the previous government since last December. A further £200 million of in-year cuts will make the task of meeting student demand this summer, and not compromising on the quality of the student experience, even harder.”

The Free Education Campaign is a student groups which campaigns for investment in free education and against cuts. To follow regular updates follow their blog at: http://freeeducationcampaign.blogspot.com/

Tuesday 25th May

On the 25th July the first session of the annual 'Summer University of Palestine', organized by Viva Palestine Arabia is due to begin in Lebanon.

The week long intensive course will cover 'Past, Present and Future Palestine' on the history, geography and politics of the region.

A-list renowned world-class speakers including: George Galloway, Ghada Karmi, Norman Finkelstein, Abdul Rahim Mourad, Dr Ali Fayad, Ziad Hafez, Reem Nimer, Vangelis Pissias, Dr Daud Abdullah ,Ma'un Bashour, Yvonne Ridley,Ramzy Baroud,Gabi Baramki, and Dr Azzam Tamimi amongst other leading speakers will be there! Will you?!

In addition to this residential educational event there will be visits to Palestinian refugee camps and we will also take you to view Baalbek, city of the sun and Fatima's gate.

This unforgettable experience is priced at $850 USD for 7 days/6 nights. This includes accommodation at the magnificent Lebanese International University, transfers, excursions, a full university syllabus and meals on the campus. You will also receive the official Viva Palestine Arabia T-shirt designed by Philosophy Football.

Spaces are limited! Register here to secure your place www.vivapalestinaarabia.org - Help us raise awareness of the siege of Gaza and also buy humanitarian aid to rebuild lives. Make a donation here: http://www.vivapalestinaarabia.org/en/donate

Saturday 8th May

A report by the Free Education Campaign offers a fully-costed alternative to the clamour for higher student fees and the savage cuts already hitting universities across the countries hard. The report argues that there is no economic case for student fees or cuts, with the government’s own figures showing that investing in Higher Education is one of the most productive ways of restoring economic growth.

Instead the report “Invest in Education – No to Cuts: the case for greater state investment in Higher Education” calls for a massive increase in state investment in Higher Education and the scrapping of student fees, as these are a deterrent to access to Higher Education. It slams the £1,000m cuts agenda underway in Higher Education as “economically illiterate” as well as “harming the life chances of hundreds of thousands of students who are to be denied university places in the coming years as government cuts are carried out”.

Using the government’s own figures, the report shows that the £23bn spent per year on Higher Education produces a direct economic return of £60bn, arising from a variety of sources including jobs, exports and innovation. That means for every £1 invested in Higher Education, the economy expands by £2.60. Treasury figures show that this increase in economic activity leads to greater tax revenue that not only covers the initial investment but would raise additional money that could be spent on tackling the national deficit or on funding other public services. It is estimated that for every £1 spent on Higher Education the government could get around £1.30 back in taxes within two years.

The report has been organised by Bellavia Ribeiro-Addy, NUS Black Students' Officer and Daf Adley, NUS LGBT Officer alongside the Free Education Campaign.

The authors accuse the government as well as the NUS leadership of “showing a distinct lack of vision” in not advocating increased state investment to solve university funding gap and instead looking at cuts and charging students more.

"It is clear that, at this time of economic crisis, cuts in HE will cause further damage to the economy. Instead, we need a massive increase in government investment in Higher Education and to open the sector up by scrapping fees. This would boost the economy in the short term, provide the skills needed for long term growth, and because it is self-financing it would create extra government income to pay off the debt or invest in other public services”

She added: “The government has shown a distinct lack of vision in creating the type of economy and Higher Education system it claims the country needs. Unfortunately many of my colleagues in NUS have shared this short-sightedness. This report shows there is an alternative way forward that would provide a fully-funded modern and free Higher Education system. We are looking forward to working with student unions, MPs, academics and the wider education sector to try to make this a reality.”

“Far from the image that some try to put forward of Higher Education being about people sitting loftily in their ivory towers, this sector is crucial to reinvigorating the British economy and giving young people the opportunities and job prospects they need.

"Instead of developing this sector, we are seeing students saddled with a lifetime of debt and a brutal cuts agenda which is not only economically illiterate but also harms the life chances of hundreds of thousands of students who are to be denied university places in the coming years.

What’s more these cuts do not add up - many staff will unfairly be thrown onto the scrapheap, costing the tax payer tens of thousands of pounds per employee in benefits and loss of tax intake alone”

“Students will be demanding to know why politicians from all three main parties argue that Britain can’t afford a free system of quality Higher Education when billions are being squandered on the wrong economic priorities such as ID cards, Trident and bailing out bank shareholders. It is time to step up our campaigning for the government to invest in Higher Education and scrap the cuts agenda.”

Keep in touch with the Free Education Campaign - please email freeeducationcampaign@gmail.com.