Source: Jess Hurd/Report Digital

No to debt: students during the anti-fees protest in Central London last winter

Abolishing tuition fees to end the ¡°commercialisation¡± of universities and limiting the ¡°incredible¡± salaries of vice-chancellors will be at the top of the Green Party¡¯s election priorities in ÖйúAƬ.

Dave Cocozza, the University of Kent film studies undergraduate named earlier this year as the Greens¡¯ higher and further education spokesman, said that a figure will soon be forthcoming on how much the party¡¯s pledge to scrap fees would cost.

That the Greens, who are enjoying a reported surge in popularity, are making a priority of the student vote was evident on the anti-fees student protest held in Central London in November, when Caroline Lucas ¨C the party¡¯s sole MP ¨C and leader Natalie Bennett mingled with protesters.

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Mr Cocozza said that the party¡¯s manifesto would be finalised at its spring conference this week, before being published in mid-March.

The ¡°main headline we¡¯re focused on for ÖйúAƬ is removing tuition fees and really going down a fully funded route for ÖйúAƬ, not saddling students with the ?9,000 tuition fee loans¡±, he said.

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However, Mr Cocozza could not provide a figure on the likely cost of scrapping fees. ¡°It is being costed at the moment,¡± he said, adding that ¡°there are boffins working behind the scenes¡­It¡¯s all being done and once approved by conference, [will be] shown for everyone to see.¡±

Last week, Ms Bennett faced ridicule after struggling in a radio interview to explain the costings behind a policy to build more social housing.

Asked if it was possible to say how the abolition of fees would be funded, Mr Cocozza said that revenue-raising measures proposed by the party more widely include the scrapping of Trident ¨C which he said would save ?100 billion ¨C ¡°clamping down on companies that are dodging tax¡± and a ¡°wealth tax¡±.

Mr Cocozza, a 24-year-old mature student, described himself as being from a working-class background and as having initially been ¡°put off¡± study ¡°when Labour originally introduced ?3,000 fees¡±.

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He added: ¡°It¡¯s about the marketisation of ÖйúAƬ. The current state is there¡¯s a massive inequality between students who work on campuses that earn about ?5.13 an hour ¨C minimum wage ¨C and vice-chancellors who are on incredible amounts of money and are continually having increases in their salaries when lecturers and other staff have to fight for a 1 per cent increase.

¡°All this comes down to the fact that it¡¯s a commercial outlet now¡­We believe that if you went back to a system of free education, you come to university to learn as opposed to being just a number in the system.¡±

Another ÖйúAƬ priority for the Greens will be ¡°reducing the inequality in salaries¡±, said Mr Cocozza. ¡°We¡¯re looking at how we could introduce a ratio limit,¡± he said, where vice-chancellors would be set a maximum salary calculated ¡°in relation to the lowest-paid member of staff¡±.

Mr Cocozza said that affordable housing for students was another priority. He added that ¡°the Green Party is the only one that will support mature students¡±. He said that he had ¡°seen so many people drop out¡±, adding that mature students often have family and work commitments and that Kent, for example, ¡°isn¡¯t geared up towards that¡±.

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Solutions should include more common rooms where students can meet without having to spend money and on-campus cr¨¨ches, Mr Cocozza argued.

john.morgan@tesglobal.com