NUS Scotland deputy and president go head to head in sabbatical race

As students across Edinburgh elect their new sabbatical officers this week, NUS Scotland is also holding its own sabbatical race. The current President Gurjit Singh is re-running for the 09/10 position while his present Depute Liam Burns is his sole challenger.

Speaking to The Journal, Mr Burns explained his frustration at watching from the sidelines this year as NUS slipped into a passive acceptance of external ideas: “What we haven’t had is the foresight for agendas.

“We are a comfortable organisation which is fortunately well respected by the Scottish Parliament yet this culture of not setting our own agenda and following others means we are fundamentally failing at our job. I pledge to be an open, honest and realistic President who is pro-active in leadership and has a clearer political direction.”

Having worked alongside each other all year the race is becoming increasingly intense. The main difference in the two campaigns is the issues the two candidates have chosen to be their main priority.

Mr Burns believes that: “The priority for the President is keeping the cap in England. You cannot just dismiss it as an English issue as it will only be a matter of time before Scotland follows with saying that ‘Free higher education was a good idea but...’ We must be brave enough to take a stronger stance on this issue.”

Meanwhile Mr Singh, who was approached by The Journal but was unavailable for comment, believes the biggest challenge students face is the coming year is the Student Support review launched by the minority Scottish Government.

On his Facebook page he insists: “We need to be a force to be reckoned with, a force that will deliver for the students in Scotland and one that creates a fairer support system. I am not prepared to compromise, do a deal or accept second best for the students of Scotland.”

The issue of student apathy has always been a problem in student politics but none more so than with the NUS. Mr Burns suggests: “Students are not apolitical- they are a’party’political. In a sense it is the media’s fault for their stereotypical representation of modern politicians as refusing to give straight answers.”

He is determined to turn this around: “I want students to be proud to be associated with NUS. I want to break the mould of the far too many uncontested elections to create a policy open leadership and encourage more students to become involved.”

Elected delegates from each Student Association across Scotland will attend a conference on Saturday 14 March at the Erskine Bridge Hotel near Paisley where each one of them will cast an individual vote for the President.

Each Association is graded on the amount of delegates they are allowed present according to their size. If they have over 7000 full time students they are entitled to the maximum of 5 students. The representatives from Edinburgh University include former rival EUSA Presidential candidates Oliver Mundell and Thomas Graham.

NUS Scotland represents over 60 Student Associations in Scotland and its membership accounts for 85% of students in Scottish higher education.