Aaron Porter, who was elected to lead the union last spring, confirmed that he would not stand for re-election at the union¡¯s national conference in April.

In a statement released today, Mr Porter says he believes the NUS needs ¡°reinvigorating¡± and that he made the decision ¡°after considerable soul-searching¡±.

¡°I believe there needs to be a new president to lead the student movement into the next phase. As a result, I¡¯ve resolved not to seek re-election at national conference this year,¡± he says.

He describes the government¡¯s decision to raise the cap on fees to ?9,000 from 2012 as ¡°a tragedy¡±.

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¡°The government¡¯s decision to treble tuition fees was a bitter pill to swallow ¨C and whilst a number of concessions were secured, notably for part-time students as well as an increased threshold of repayment for all graduates, this was still not the outcome we wanted,¡± he writes.

¡°Thousands of students will now decide that higher education is not for them ¨C and the ones that do get to go will be plunged into an era of market chaos. It¡¯s a tragedy ¨C and one that requires relentless pressure, both locally and nationally, to ensure that it is exposed and replaced with something better as soon as possible.¡±

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Mr Porter was facing leadership challenges from opponents who called for a fresh wave of student mobilisation.

Members of the Education Activist Network and the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts have pledged to stand for leadership posts under a ¡°united Left¡± slate.

The groups, which are behind many recent protests and occupations, accused Mr Porter of failing to mount tough opposition to rising tuition fees and funding cuts.

rebecca.attwood@tsleducation.com