Last
updated: 06/12/05
'NUS
could be bankrupt in a year'
The
former chairman of the National Union of Students (NUS) finance committee
has said that the union could be bankrupt within a year.
Sam Rozati, who resigned from the committee on November 5 to campaign
to save the organisation, claims that the NUS has a £2m overdraft,
is running at a £300,000 deficit and has already spent half of
the proceeds from the sale of its London headquarters. The NUS has denied
the claims.
The NUS's London buildings were sold to secure the financial future
of the organisation, which has 5 million members in higher and further
education colleges across the country.
Mr Rozati said, "Spending assets on running costs is the biggest
sign of imminent bankruptcy, yet the NUS executive doesn't seem to care."
"As chair of NUS finance committee for over a year, it is my view
that if it continues as it is now, the NUS will be bankrupt within 12
months."
He claims the problems stem from the fact that the campaigns being run
by the union are seriously over-budget and there is little appetite
to challenge the status quo because elected officials are scared of
becoming unpopular.
The union has said that it was addressing its financial activities and
denied that is was in such financial difficulty.
NUS president Kat Fletcher and national director Andy Grant said in
a statement that there was no overdraft and that they were not anticipating
one this year. They also stressed that the union has an annual turnover
of £5m.
"NUS will not be bankrupt in 12 months," read the statement.
"We are the first national executive committee for many years to
have recognised both our own financial problems and those faced by the
students' unions we represent and have taken proactive steps to address
them. We remain confident within the management team that not only have
the financial issues raised been addressed, but that NUS will continue
to represent the student voice at local and national level," it
added.
The union designed plans to solve their financial problems last year
when a budget shortfall of £461,000 was acknowledged. The plans
included the sale of the Holloway Road headquarters and moving key staff
to Manchester. The move has yet happen and staff are now working from
rented offices in Camden.
Some student unions have been piloting an NUS Extra card, for which
students pay £10 to accrue additional discounts to those already
available through the regular NUS card, as a way of bolstering finances.
The union has blamed the shortfall on historical problems, including
a bad investment in a computer system, overspending, a bloated administration
and, some argue, falling revenue at union bars.
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