London Met Update

Yesterday, Richard Coogan's 'prediction' (see 'Day of action at LMU' post) of the number of staff to be cut was confirmed. One in four staff are set to be dismissed from the University over a period of time which is at the moment unknown. This amounts to 550 full time staff and possibly more part time lecturers. The immediate effect that this will have on the University will be chaos.

With 25% of the work force gone, classes could become bigger, less structured, or in some cases, stopped altogether. The reputation of LMU as an institution could also come under question. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I would like my completed degree to mean something in the real world and not be associated with a University that was in any way not up to standards.

The students deserve better and the staff certainly don't deserve to take the fall for Brian Roper's 'mistakes'.

Check back soon for the next course of action.

www.socialistparty.org.uk

Tomorrow - 2PM

A Saudi trade Unionist and Socialist member has come under threat of deportation today as his application for asylum has been turned down. There will be a protest outside the Home Office, at 2PM tomorrow, to show support and contest this decision.

More on this story can be found by clicking here.

www.socialistparty.org.uk

Day of Action at LMU

Today students and staff joined forces to raise awareness about the proposed funding cuts at LMU. The offensive was strategically timed to coincide with the Student Activities Fair in order to generate as much interest as possible. Those active on the campaign set up stalls outside the front of each building, here they collected signatures, handed out leaflets and generally informed the masses of what is going on behind closed dooors.



Upstairs, in the Activities Fair itself, we had an information stall set up to reiterate the point of the campaign and also to promote some of our own issues i.e upcoming protests. There was a lot of support built up with several new members joining the party and many more requesting further information.

North Campus sported the biggest collection of lecturers demonstrating against the cuts, all of whom had a lot to say about the 'mishap' threatening their jobs.

Yaz Djebbour, lecturer of Quantitive Methods and Information Systems, is adamant that the job cuts will 'ruin education in North London' and that a reduction in staff 'will mean less elective classes being run, less support being offered and in some cases whole courses being eliminated'.

Retired lecturer, Richard Coogan, was happy to share his opinions and ardently commented that a Union meeting that was due to take place a few hours after the demonstration would confirm that 250 jobs are set to go by July with a further 300 following next year.

Information regarding the meeting has still not been confirmed however it is obvious to see that tensions are rising and discontent growing. It is becoming apparent that more and more people are now aware of the problem and exactly which Vice Chancellor is responsible for it.

www.socialistparty.org.uk

Campaign To Defeat Fees!

As the economic climate worsens it has become increasingly apparent that the British Banks are not the only ones affected. The crisis has proceeded to steal jobs from the masses and is now seeping into our education system.

Many students rely on part time jobs to supplement their loans whilst at University however, with an unprecedented amount of companies closing down each week these jobs are becoming ever harder to find.

The campaign to defeat fees is calling for an end to all tuition costs as well as suggesting that the government sets up a scheme to assist those who are having financial difficulties, therefore preventing the need to drop out!

Also, this year the governement have announced that they will be reviewing the limit on what Universities can charge their students, some even claiming that institutions should be allowed to charge whatever they want - even reaching into the tens of thousands. The campaign for fees will fight back against this!

Join the National Protest on 25th Febuary - SOAS, Central London at 12 Noon

Fight for your future and claim back your University!

www.socialistparty.org.uk

Funding Cuts at LMU - Day of Action!

Outside the front of every London Metropolitan University building on Wednesday the 18th of Febuary there will be a demonstration to show support against proposed funding cuts. Join in with Students and Staff from 12:00 - 14:00!

The demonstration aims to build support as the future of LMU comes under question. HEFCE (The Higher Education Funding Council) has decided to reclaim grants they have now decided LMU wasn't entitled to which spells out a huge financial crisis for everyone involved.

The error in funding, which has been ongoing since 2005, appears to be 'an honest error' from our very own Vice Chancellor.

In order to reclaim the money which was wrongly given, HEFCE has decided to firstly cut the teaching grant by a minimum of £15 million per annum, starting this year, and secondly to demand repayment of approxiamately £38 million!

The LMU Vice Chancellor, Brian Roper, has decided that to raise this money he has no choice but to make huge staff reductions, those of which are set to result in the loss of at least 330 jobs by July of this year.

Roper comments that "LMU's prime consideration is to ensure a continued ability to deliver a high quality education to all current and future students", he then goes on to say that he intends '"all current students will be able to finish their courses/studies with the University".

Whether these promises will materialise to anything is still unclear however, when taken into consideration that Roper has tripled his own salary since 2005 to a total of £300k, it seems that the students best interests aren't as close to his heart as his own income.


For related stories and other news, visit www.socialistparty.org.uk