'Down with Browne!' as Queens students respond to anti-student proposals

Peter McCormick
Sheena Campbell Cumann
Queens Sinn Féin

Hundreds of students gathered outside Queen’s University Student’s Union on Tuesday in protest over the proposed increase in tuition fees as outlined in the Browne Review. This plan explains how students are to ‘have far more power to shape their own future.’

This claim has been dismissed by students who are trying to understand how they can have more power to shape their own future when they will inevitably be faced with paying off even more tuition fees, as universities will no longer be constrained by the current cap of £3,290.


These new fees can extend up to figures of £30,000 after a three year degree, and this estimated figure does not include maintenance loans to cover living costs which are also on the rise. Browne claims that students will be ‘put in the driving seat of a revolutionary new system,’ the obvious problem being whether or not students can afford to be on this seat. Under these new plans outlined in the review, universities can ‘vary what they charge but it will be up to students whether they choose the university.’


Strong opposition to these plans point out the increasing demand for higher education, hiking fears that more and more students will almost be forced into taking up placements at universities with a package of debt that outweighs any current levels of student loan repayments, or either give up on higher education entirely. The Review significantly dilutes governmental regulation and involvement in higher education and students protesting at Queens fear what can only be described as ‘unchecked’ rises in tuition fees.