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PALATINATE | Thursday 9th February 2023
Politics
Student
£9156: the politics of student rent increases Amber Tait The increase in cost of a standard catered room at Durham University has been met with outrage from students. The University has been criticised for reinforcing structural class divides, and pricing working class students out of the city. The cost-of-living crisis has already resulted in a housing crisis in the city, with many students still uncertain about where they will live next academic year. The rise in the price of college accommodation means that what had previously been a safety net for those struggling to rent privately, is now less affordable than in the past. The University has justified this increase in college rent, arguing that increased costs of supplies have forced them to drive up their prices, but many students have questioned what this money is being spent on. A standard catered room will now cost £9,156 for a 39-week contract – with the maximum student loan for students living away from home outside of London now being £9,978, leaving just £822 after rent has been paid. Student Finance England will only be increasing student loans by 2.8% for the 2023/24 academic year, compared to the current rate of inflation at 9%. This decision has been met with mass criticism and will put every student in receipt of student finance in a worse off position. With prices rising for students around the country, a university education is becoming increasingly inaccessible for working class students, and those whose parents are not earning higher incomes. The current student loan system is limited and does not consider the various factors that may affect a student’s ability to fund their studies. The system ultimately considers parental income, the type of course being studied and whether a student has learning difficulties or extenuating circumstances that may hinder their education.
In the past, a Durham education was far more affordable
The system does not consider the amount of money a student’s parents may spend per month on rent or a mortgage, other debt they may acquire, or the number of dependents their parents may have,
or the price of basic accommodation at the university they have chosen to attend. This means that every situation is assessed with the same broad conditions that most people’s situations do not fit into. Ultimately, a student who has no siblings, whose parents may pay out a small mortgage every month will be awarded the same loan entitlement as a student whose parents pay a large sum in rent every month, if their combined annual income is the same. As such, the way in which a student’s income is assessed is flawed, resulting in some struggling to afford their university experience. In the past, a Durham education was far more affordable. According to a 2005-06 occupancy agreement for Collingwood College, tuition fees cost £1,175 each year with a standard catered room costing £3693 (around £5,622.84 in 2022, according to the Bank of England’s Inflation calculator). Despite the rise in tuition fees being a policy introduced by the Government, the rise in accommodation fees is something the University is responsible for. Although this can be explained by an improvement in facilities in Durham, or an increase in pay for staff, the significant increase in the cost of accommodation against inflation seems difficult to justify. Durham University has justified the increase in college rent costs by arguing that the worst off students will be eligible for the Durham Grant - set at £2,500 for the year 2023-4 - although this will still leave
students struggling to get by, even on top of the maximum student loan. The options for a student in this situation seem clear: miss out on entertainment throughout the year that their peers will be able to afford, such as formal dinners, joining societies or balls; or opt for cheaper self-catered college where one may be able to save money on food. The reality is that an ever-present divide is appearing in Durham, where students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds populate the self-catered colleges in greater numbers than their wealthier peers who populate the Bailey. The increase to rent prices will result in this divide expanding.
Those in the “silent middle” will also continue to suffer; those whose parents have a combined income of £50,000. They will receive a maintenance loan of around £6,412 according to Student Finance England. Students whose household income reaches this threshold are not eligible for any extra help from the university, and will therefore have to rely on their parents. If their parents are unable to support them, they will have to work whilst studying in order to cover their rent. This amount of money will not cover standard self-catered accommodation, potentially encouraging these students to attend another institution, where accommodation
Durham Castle (Russell Wills via Geograph) is more affordable. It is important to consider that tuition fees were introduced as a “top up” sum in the 1990s, paid merely to supplement government funding; since the tripling of fees to £9,000 in 2010, this amount has been meant to replace government funding altogether, and has turned students into customers in an ever-changing market, rather than citizens exercising their right to education. This approach has inflated the cost of higher education, resulting in the poorest accumulating the most debt, thus perpetuating economic inequality between generations.
Politics explains: student cost of living crisis Madeleine Ballay Politics Editor The cost-of-living crisis has dramatically affected student incomes. The House of Commons reported that, in 2022/3, the maximum student loan value decreased by 7.2% in real terms, despite a cash value increase of 2.3%. In Durham, we have seen college accommodation prices steadily increase in the past decade. However, the jump in the cost of catered accommodation from £8,301 in 2022/3, to £9,156 next academic year, is what has caused anger in the student population.
Universities around the country are raising the price of rent. The student housing charity Unipol has estimated that the average cost of rent has risen by 60% in the past decade. It now outstrips the average maintenance loan of £6,900. In response to the crisis, students around the country have taken decisive action. In Manchester, approximately 150 students have, or intended to withhold their rent due in January. In response to mounting financial pressure on the student population, the Russell Group has called for a review of parental earning thresholds. These have been frozen since 2008, leaving
them unadjusted to the economic fluctuation of the last fifteen years. The Department for Education’s response to the crisis has been to freeze tuition fees for the sixth year running and a “multimillion pound package to help students cover living and other costs”. Amidst the national crisis, with strikes affecting schools across the country, it is unlikely that a broader policy response will be developed by the present government. Students will have to continue cobbling together a living from loans, parents and part time work to afford the bare necessities.