Students’ Union to Double Society Funding
'£20,000, will be directly reallocated into society funding, doubling the money available to societies from September 2025'
by Barty Roberts, Editor-in-Chief, BA Politics and International Relations 03/02/2025
The SOAS Students’ Union Board of Trustees has passed a motion to remove a sabbatical officer role and direct the entirety of the money to student societies, student media and student campaigns. This motion was presented following a student consultation which voted overwhelmingly in favour of the restructuring.
The realigned sabbatical officer team will consist of: a Co-President for Democracy and Education, a Co-President for Welfare and Liberation and a Co-President for Activities and Campaigns. This proposal received unanimous support from Society Presidents at a forum held in January.
Up until 2016, the Students’ Union only had three sabbatical officers so the reversion back to three is not unprecedented. In the 2023/24 academic year the Students’ Union only operated with three sabbatical officers following the suspension and eventual dismissal of Co-President Sushant Singh. Additionally, this year the Students’ Union has operated with only two sabbatical officers following the dismissal of Alex Cachinero Gorman and Abel Harvie-Clark.
The motion was first presented to the Society Presidents’ Forum, a weekly meeting to which all society Presidents are invited in order to ensure communication between societies and the Students’ Union in order to provide maximum support to society leaders.
By removing a sabbatical officer role, the Students’ Union will be able to redistribute roughly £35,000. The majority of this, £20,000, will be directly reallocated into society funding, doubling the money available to societies from September 2025.
£11,000 will be used to fund support and training for low-income students involved in Student Media. This money will be used to fund a free monthly podcasting course for students as well as providing a stipend for SOAS Spirit journalists, the Students’ Union has therefore committed to supporting students with aspirations in both print and digital media.
The final spending introduction, £4,000, will be to provide a budget for Students’ Union campaigns. This money will be used at the discretion of the sabbatical officer team.
Despite the Students’ Union’s consultatory poll voting resoundingly in favour of the restructuring, some students have criticised the decision being opposed to what they consider to be unnecessary cuts in funding. The Students’ Union have been keen to stress that no money is being cut, it is instead being reallocated as a result of a democratic consultation.
