University cuts ‘affecting student mental health'
Students called for an overhaul to make Welsh universities more financially sustainable amid concerns about the uncertainty of sweeping cuts impacting on mental health.
Deio Owen, president of the National Union of Students (NUS) Cymru, warned students' mental health has suffered following proposed and confirmed cuts at Welsh universities.
He told the Senedd's education committee: 'That uncertainty does have a knock-on effect – not just on your education and your prospects in your exams… but also your personal life.'
Mr Owen said students are paying more than £9,000 in tuition fees 'for a service you're not sure you're going to get which makes the university sector unique'.
He told the committee: 'It's not like going to a shop and buying a tumble dryer or a toaster, and it's that uncertainty which isn't fair on students or staff or anybody that's being affected.'
Giving evidence on June 25 as part of an inquiry on higher education, Mr Owen said students support staff in taking crucial industrial action.
'There is also frustration, there are doubts,' he added. 'If you look at it from the outside 'the staff aren't teaching and I'm going to miss out' but, generally speaking, I think there is support and people understand why people are striking.'
Asked about comparisons with the rest of the UK, Mr Owen told the committee many of the challenges are common across the four nations.
But, raising concerns about participation rates, he pointed to statistics showing around 30 per cent of Welsh young people attend a university anywhere in the UK. This compares with 40 per cent in Northern Ireland, 'our closest counterpart economically', and nearly 50 per cent in greater London.
Vaughan Gething, the former first minister who was himself once NUS Cymru's president, asked about calls for an overhaul of the financial model for universities in Wales.
Mr Owen replied: 'To put it quite simply, the system is not working as it is formed right now and we need to see that change to make it fairer, more equal and equitable for everyone who wants to access the higher education system here in Wales.'
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