STUDENTS are planning to bring the city's universities to a halt in their ongoing campaign against top-up fees.

The power to charge students up to £3,000 a year is a central part of the controversial Higher Education Bill, which was backed by MPs in the Commons on Tuesday night.

Students leaders fear the measure will mean graduating with debts of up to £35,000, which they say will force students to determine their courses and their careers on financial rather than academic grounds.

Plans are already being drawn up for a protest march in Manchester later this month, designed to be part of a national day of action.

And Seb Dance, communications officer at Manchester University Students' Union, who spent the hours in the run-up to the Commons vote lobbying MPs, said Tony Blair hasn't won yet.

He said he expects the Bill to have a bumpy ride as it goes through further readings and committee stages.

"I think students are very disappointed," he said. "We will certainly be supporting the protest and we will be making sure that students realise that this is just the first stage of the Bill.

"The government still faces an enormous uphill process if this Bill is to go through."

Disappointed

He added: "£35,000 - that's a colossal amount of debt to start your working life with. It will put people off who are from a lower income background. It will make universities more elitist and will close doors that have previously been open."

And his concerns are shared by Brendan Keville, president of the students' union at Salford University. Brendan said: "We were very disappointed that MPs lacked the courage to vote down what is a very bad piece of legislation and we will be continuing to campaign against top-up fees during the Bill's passage through committees at the Houses of Parliament.

"We will continue to push for recognition that education is a right not a privilege and underfunding of public services in this country can only be resolved by the introduction of progressive taxation.

"Salford has been very much involved in this issue since 1997 and Salford will be taking part in national action against further cutbacks within the education system."

Action taken by students from Greater Manchester's universities will be part of a nationally co-ordinated plan to oppose the moves, designed to include a "shutdown" of education on February 25.

NUS president Mandy Telford said: "Surely common sense dictates that this Bill needs to be stopped and we should have a review now to finding a system that doesn't punish students. This fight is not over. We will stop any moves to create a market in higher education."

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