Thursday 09-11-2017 - 17:39

Ayesha Naser

Who am I?

I am 19 years old and a second year Economics student. I heard about the opportunity to be a delegate by pure chance! Once I read into all that NUS stands for I knew that this is something I would like to be a part of. What better way to bring about change than to play an active part in being the change?

Within university I am a peer mentor and part of the Manchester Metropolitan Islamic Society. Being a peer mentor has given me an interesting insight into what people expect when they first transition to higher education and what they actually learn. This is a significant factor which has influenced me to stand in the election to be one of the delegates. Being a part of ISOC has welcomed me into a great community and taught me that everyone should have the chance to belong and have equal opportunities to meet their true potential.

What are my key priorities?

There are many elements of the 5 key zones: Further Education, Higher Education, Society and Citizenship, Union Development and Welfare, that I believe would benefit from change and require us, the voices of our nation’s future, to speak out on. I have selected three that I believe are imperative to look at, I believe changing the way we view these three key priorities will be a positive step towards a healthy education system.

• Mental Health Awareness: the brain is an organ much like the rest of the body, and it too suffers. Mental health has been a taboo topic for much too long, the success and potential of young people is as dependant on how they are coping mentally as well as physically. Sweeping this matter under the rug is detrimental to the young people who ARE the future.
• Equality for all types of students: no factors should ever affect what opportunities are available to you in the education system other than the value that stems from you as an individual, what potential you have and what you have to offer to the world. A system that encourages individuality and diversity should be something we all aspire to.
• Quality of teaching: the intermediary between students and the new things we learn every single day are the teachers and lecturers. They are the foundation of our education system, therefore there must be more emphasis put on ensuring teachers and lecturers are able to provide the highest quality of teaching. BOTH students and teaching figures have an imperative role in carving the path to success for each individual.

What am I trying to achieve?

I am incredibly passionate about bringing a constructive and progressive change, I want to hear about what students feel should be different but also what aspects they believe are doing well and want to see more of. This is why I believe I deserve to be one of the delegates. Thank you for taking the time to read my manifesto!