During September, thousands of students begin the next chapter of their education as they start their university courses across the country. With the excitement of Freshers’ Fairs, meeting new flatmates and exploring new unfamiliar surroundings, they may not realise that they are entering a higher education sector in crisis. Universities are going bankrupt, lecturers have been striking over dismal pay and abject working conditions, and the National Union of Students has ceased to be an effective advocacy wing for students.
All of these problems have received widespread media coverage, but there is another silent crisis facing students, one which has a far more acute impact on the welfare, outcomes and experiences of many at university: food insecurity.
Food Insecurity and Its Impact
The University of Nottingham’s Students’ Union (UoNSU) recently commissioned an in-depth case study which attempted to understand the impact of food insecurity on students. The findings are harrowing. For their research, food insecurity was defined as ‘the lack of consistent physical, social and economic access to adequate and nutritious food that meets dietary needs and food preferences.’ It was demonstrated that when it occurs, food insecurity perpetuates inequality within our universities, with those unable to afford food skipping meals and taking on part or full-time work alongside a full-time degree. Academic performance takes a back seat as students struggle to cover the costs of accommodation, take shifts instead of going to lectures, and miss out on extra-curricular activities and socialisation which forms an integral part of the value of going to university. This is not simply a consequence of the cost-of-living crisis, it is a symptom of an intersecting web of public policy failings which stretch far beyond the higher education sector or the inflation we have all experienced.
Higher Education in Financial Crisis
It is no secret that universities are struggling to make ends meet. A recent flurry of media reports on the financial precarity of many institutions demonstrated the problems besetting universities across the country. These problems primarily stem from two sources. Firstly, the policy of austerity, which cut real resources across the system, affected our universities, and stifled crucial sources of funding. Secondly, with tuition fees frozen, their real value has been severely eroded for universities. As a result, it is expected that by 2025 universities will be making an average loss of £4,000 per undergraduate student. This has reduced the available funding for universities to safeguard their students, including supporting those who are food insecure. Additionally, some universities have sought to obtain funding elsewhere. For instance, by raising prices for on-campus food, a pressure which was identified by some students in UoNSU’s recent report.
Insufficient Maintenance Loans
Public policy towards maintenance loans has also failed students. Maintenance loans are the state’s mechanism for supporting students at university but, for most, it falls far short. A 2023 report found that in the previous two years, maintenance loans had risen by 5.2 per cent, despite average student rent increasing by 14.6 per cent. This leaves the average maintenance loan at £7,590, despite the annual average student rent being £7,566 — which gives students just £24 to cover all other expenses. For the 2023/24 academic year, maintenance loans were raised by just 2.8 per cent, even though inflation averaged 9 per cent. Remarkably, this is a problem which has primarily affected England, with maintenance loans for the poorest students increasing by 40 per cent in Northern Ireland, 9.4 per cent in Wales and 11.1 per cent in Scotland for the 2023/24 academic year.
Students in England, however, who are not in a fortunate enough position to rely on financial support from their families must work part or full-time jobs while in full-time education, just to afford the bare essentials. Alongside this comes an approach to buying food which often strips nutrition from any consideration, such as by avoiding fresh fruit and vegetables. UoNSU’s report found that students facing food insecurity focussed primarily on buying the cheapest food available, and often skipped meals.
Policy Failures and Misplaced Priorities
This is all indicative of an approach to student policy which has failed to tackle the deep-rooted problems that the sector faces, such as food insecurity. Instead of alleviating real budget concerns for both institutions and students, higher education has been used as a political football. For instance, rather than focussing on the tangible problems affecting the academic performance, mental well-being and university experience of students, the previous government chose to introduce the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023. This act purported to protect freedom of speech in universities but was widely decried by those in the higher education sector as being both vague and unnecessary, with freedom of speech already protected in existing legislation.
Rather than helping students, the act placed a significant liability on both universities and student unions. As a trustee of my university’s student union, I have seen the costs first-hand. Valuable staff time and resources have been expended in preparing for it to take effect, placing an extraordinary strain on our Student Union — as it will likely place on Student Unions across the country. Moreover, this time could have been better spent on other issues, including how to support students facing food insecurity, and how to mitigate against the resultant decline in academic performance and mental wellbeing.
Government Action is Key
All of these factors combine to create a higher education sector fighting fires on several fronts, and often without the resources or capacity to adapt to change. Inflation has hit students noticeably hard, with those from lower-income families particularly impacted by food insecurity. In the very institutions which should be a bastion of social mobility, food becomes a privilege, academic achievement takes a backseat, and inequality is perpetuated.
There are institutional changes that can be made, but the onus is on the government as the agent with the ability to make the greatest difference in this area. No one should be under the impression that it will be easy or quick to restore stability and food security in our universities. The many problems facing our higher education institutions are intersectional, meaning there is no silver bullet to magically eradicate them. However, it should be incumbent on any government serious about remedying the deep issues afflicting our country that they work to alleviate the pressures facing so many suffering students.
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