Survey created by Celia Tzermia
The “broke student” trope is hardly new, but it’s not just a fun, quirky aesthetic or the overly dramatic whining some accuse us of. For many students, financial hardship is a relentless and draining reality – one that grows more severe by the year. With the cost of living reaching unmanageable heights, students are left to fend for themselves as government support falls further and further behind. Just as wages haven’t kept pace with inflation, neither have maintenance loans. Reports of growing numbers of students accessing food banks point to an undeniably failing system, of which it is not difficult to see who’s losing the most.
A System in Crisis – Who’s Losing?
Studying for a degree indisputably requires time and energy – The University of Sussex’s SkillsHub recommends students treat their degree like a “full-time job,” with an expected commitment of 35-40 hours per week. But how realistic is this when the majority of students are also forced to take on part-time jobs just to get by?
In a recent survey of Sussex University students, we uncovered some shocking numbers. Only 10% of respondents said their maintenance loan was sufficient to cover their basic living expenses. To make up for this shortfall, an overwhelming 86% of students are either working or actively looking for part-time work, with most working 10-20 hours per week during term time. Of those employed, 79% said that working these hours interferes with their studies.
The financial reality doesn’t just affect students’ academic lives; it also impacts their overall wellbeing. 66% of respondents reported that financial constraints prevent them from purchasing basic necessities either sometimes or frequently. Meanwhile, 42% said financial stress affects their mental health “somewhat,” and a disturbing 46% said it has a “significant” impact on their mental wellbeing.
Many students have been forced into drastic lifestyle changes just to make it through each month. 43% of respondents reported skipping meals, 82% are cutting back on social activities, 36% strain to take on extra work hours, and 48% avoid public transportation (despite the inconvenience this causes) due to high costs. It’s clear that financial inequality is creating a divide, as those without familial support struggle more than ever to afford university. How is it acceptable that access to education and learning is becoming a privilege reserved only for those who can afford it?
The system is clearly in crisis and urgently needs reform. It’s not just individual students who are suffering; universities themselves are facing serious challenges. With enrollment rates dropping significantly, many institutions are struggling financially. 40% of UK universities are predicted to face budget deficits by the end of the year, with over 50 universities already announcing redundancies and course closures as a consequence. To stay afloat, they rely heavily on the inflated tuition fees paid by international students. However, with government-imposed visa restrictions, even international enrollment is on the decline. With the entire system straining, we have to ask: who is actually benefiting?
The Real Winners in the Commodification of Education
Since the 1990s, the UK higher education sector has been restructured to operate more like a business, with universities competing for students and funding. In 1998, the government introduced tuition fees at £1,000, and the cap has steadily increased since, reaching a staggering £9,000 in 2012. Recently, it was announced that fees would rise once again to £9,535 – a sharp betrayal of the Labour government’s pledge to abolish tuition fees altogether. As government funding dwindles, universities have been left scrambling for money, with inflation rendering domestic student fees inadequate to keep institutions afloat.
This shift has allowed various players to position themselves to profit from the “business” of education. Most universities manage investment portfolios to generate revenue, sometimes at the expense of their ethical values. For example, Sussex University faced backlash for investing over £60 million in Barclays and £20 million in BlackRock, both companies involved in funding major arms manufacturers like BAE Systems and Boeing, complicit in the Palestinian genocide (among many other abhorrent violations of human rights). The irony is palpable; institutions that encourage students to engage in critical thinking are funding enterprises tied to war and violence, creating an unavoidable sense of dissonance.
Beyond the university portfolios, other corporations – particularly construction and technology firms – are benefiting handsomely from the commodification of higher education. Universities, eager to attract lucrative international students, often prioritise aesthetic projects over investments in teaching or research. At Sussex University, for instance, affordable housing options like Park Village have been demolished, while EatCentral has undergone an unnecessarily costly facelift. Meanwhile, Balfour Beatty has taken on a major contract to develop the premium-priced West Slope accommodations, a move that serves corporate interests over student needs.
Financial institutions also have a stake in this model. Student loans are highly profitable, generating billions in revenue for private lenders and investment funds. Banks and financial institutions enjoy a steady, long-term income stream from students who rely on loans to finance their studies. However, unlike students we surveyed who (50%?) of report little confidence in their financial future after university, these corporations see significant returns without the burden of debt.
As these corporate interests thrive, university staff and students bear the brunt, seen through mass strikes and financial struggles. Without substantial reform, the system risks collapsing under its own weight.
Fix It!
The current system is unsustainable, and a transformation is long overdue. At the very least, maintenance loans must now increase to support the many students struggling to make ends meet. But increasing loans is merely a short-term fix. To address the root issues, we need to rethink the structure of higher education, including the complete abolition of tuition fees. This isn’t a utopian fantasy; countries like Germany, Norway, Finland, and Denmark manage public universities with no or low tuition fees for domestic students.
Student-centred solutions require a shift away from the market-driven model that reduces learning to a transactional exchange. Funding for universities should come from a fairer system – one that doesn’t rely on student debt. Reallocating governmental funds from areas like excessive military spending (which often does more harm than good – see the article this edition on UK complicity in the Sudan war), as well as enforcing higher taxes on mega-corporations, could provide the necessary financial support. The tired old phrase “tax the rich” comes to mind – but not in terms of taxing the aggressively middle class family down the road. Taxing the truly wealthy – the multinational corporations that profit through exploitation, extraction and environmental damage – would quite obviously offer a more sustainable source of revenue.
While this is not the place for an extensive discussion of societal restructuring, in the face of the financial struggles of students, it’s clear that the time has come to abandon profit-driven policies and pursue a model of higher education that puts students first. We need a system that doesn’t drain students financially, emotionally, and physically – to put it simply, universities should be places of intellectual growth accessible to all, not the debt factories they seem to be today. The current model stifles the joy in learning, forcing many students to focus on survival over their studies.
This isn’t just a conversation about loans and fees; it’s a call for a future in which education isn’t restricted to the wealthy. The very institutions meant to uplift society are instead becoming barriers to social mobility, making knowledge a privilege rather than a basic right. At the end of the day, it’s clear that students can’t keep shouldering this burden; we deserve better, and we need a higher education system that reflects that.