要求 GitHub 恢复 GitHub Copilot Student 的高级模型访问权限，并停止对教育者的隐性“降级”收费

Restore Advanced Model Access for GitHub Copilot Student – Stop the Silent Downgrade and Unfair Upgrade Fees

致：GitHub Education 团队

我们，来自全球各地的学生开发者，在此联名要求 GitHub 重新考虑 2026 年 3 月对 GitHub Copilot Student 计划的变更。我们呼吁 GitHub 恢复对学生账户的高级模型访问权限，或者允许学生在不增加经济负担的前提下，保留原有 Copilot Pro 级别体验。

To:  GitHub Education Team

We, student developers from around the world, call on GitHub to reconsider the changes made to the GitHub Copilot Student plan in March 2026. We ask GitHub to restore advanced model access for student accounts, or to allow students to retain the original Copilot Pro‑level experience without imposing additional financial burdens.

我们怀着失望与困惑的心情发起这份请愿。长期以来，GitHub Education 一直是全球学生开发者最信赖的伙伴，为学生免费提供的 GitHub Copilot 极大地降低了编程学习的门槛。

然而，2026 年 3 月，我们陆续收到了 GitHub 官方的邮件通知——GitHub 宣布对学生计划进行重大调整。虽然表面上称为“可持续性调整”，但实质上，这是对现有学生权益的一次严重降级。GitHub 移除了学生版中对开发至关重要的高级模型（如 GPT‑5.4、Claude Opus 4.6 等），并建议那些想要恢复原有体验的学生付费升级到 Copilot Pro 或 Pro+ 计划。

We launch this petition with disappointment and confusion. For a long time, GitHub Education has been one of the most trusted partners for student developers around the world. The GitHub Copilot provided for free through GitHub Education greatly lowered the barrier to learning programming.

However, in March 2026, we began receiving official emails from GitHub announcing a major adjustment to the student plan. Though it was described as a “sustainability adjustment”, in reality it is a severe downgrade of existing student benefits. GitHub removed advanced models (such as GPT‑5.4 and Claude Opus 4.6) that are essential for development from the student version, and now suggests that students who wish to restore the original experience must pay to upgrade to Copilot Pro or Pro+.

这种降级不仅仅是更换一个模型名字那么简单，它给我们的学习和项目开发带来了实质性的阻碍：

学习质量的下降：高级模型（如 Claude Opus 和 GPT‑5.4）在解释复杂算法、处理大规模代码重构、以及逐步指导调试方面，远比剩余的“基础模型”更优秀。正如学生 Sahad Rushdi 在 GitHub 社区所言：“这些模型不仅仅是一个选项，它们是学习行业领先技术所必需的。”
不公平的“付费墙”：GitHub 副总裁建议学生如果想用回好用的模型，就“付钱吧”（Pay）。对于大多数没有稳定收入、甚至背负学费贷款的学生来说，每月 10 美元甚至更高的 Pro 套餐费用，是一笔沉重的负担。
被剥夺的选择权：我们理解企业需要控制成本，但如此大幅度的功能削减，让“GitHub Student”这一计划的含金量大打折扣。这不再是免费福利的缩减，而是对学生群体生产力的人为限制。

This downgrade is not just about changing model names; it has created real obstacles for our learning and project development:

Decline in learning quality: Advanced models (like Claude Opus and GPT‑5.4) are far superior to the remaining “basic models” when it comes to explaining complex algorithms, handling large‑scale code refactoring, and providing step‑by‑step debugging guidance. As student Sahad Rushdi noted in the GitHub community: “These models are not just an option—they are essential for learning industry‑leading technologies.”
Unfair paywall: A GitHub vice president suggested that if students want to use the good models again, they should “pay.” For most students who lack stable income or even carry student loans, $10 or more per month for a Pro plan is a heavy financial burden.
Choice taken away: We understand that companies need to control costs, but such a drastic feature reduction severely diminishes the value of the “GitHub Student” plan. This is no longer a reduction of free benefits; it is an artificial limitation on student productivity.

除了学生计划的降级，GitHub 近期还宣布将从 2026 年 4 月 24 日起，默认使用免费和 Pro 用户的交互数据来训练 AI 模型。这意味着，如果我们要“付费升级”到 Pro 计划去使用高级模型，我们的代码数据还将被用于训练 GitHub 的商业模型。

这对学生开发者是一种双重打击：我们不仅被迫为原本免费的核心功能付费，而且一旦付费，我们的私有代码和数据还将被无偿征用去优化 GitHub 的产品。

In addition to the student plan downgrade, GitHub recently announced that starting April 24, 2026, it will default to using interaction data from free and Pro users to train its AI models. This means that if we “pay to upgrade” to a Pro plan to regain advanced models, our code data will also be used to train GitHub’s commercial models.

This is a double blow for student developers: we are forced to pay for features that were previously core to the free student offering, and once we pay, our private code and data are taken to improve GitHub’s products without our meaningful consent.

我们尊重 Microsoft 作为商业公司需要盈利的现实，但我们认为学生开发者应当获得公平的对待。因此，我们提出以下合理的解决方案（可选择一项或多项）：

恢复模型访问：立即恢复 GitHub Copilot Student 计划中对高级模型（包括 GPT‑5.4 和 Claude Opus/Sonnet 系列）的访问权限，维持该计划作为真正有助于尖端学习的工具。
提供“学生价”升级通道：如果确实需要收费，请为学生提供一个极具竞争力的折扣（例如在现有 Student Pack 基础上，仅需支付象征性费用如 $1‑3/月）即可升级到包含完整模型功能的 Pro 版本，而不是全价收费。

We respect that Microsoft, as a commercial company, needs to be profitable. However, we believe student developers deserve fair treatment. Therefore, we propose the following reasonable solutions (any combination of the below):

Restore model access: Immediately restore access to advanced models (including GPT‑5.4 and Claude Opus/Sonnet series) for the GitHub Copilot Student plan, keeping the program as a tool that genuinely supports cutting‑edge learning.
Provide a student‑priced upgrade path: If charging is truly necessary, offer students a highly competitive discount (e.g., a nominal fee of $1–3/month on top of the existing Student Pack) to upgrade to the Pro version with full model features, rather than charging the full price.

编程教育正在经历 AI 驱动的革命。限制学生接触最前沿的工具，实际上是在扩大技术鸿沟。GitHub 曾承诺通过 Education 项目赋能下一代的开发者，请不要让这个承诺停留在口号层面。我们需要那些能够理解复杂逻辑、帮助我们应对大型项目的高级模型。

请在下方签名，支持我们向 GitHub 传达这一诉求。让我们共同努力，确保每一个热爱代码的学生，无论经济状况如何，都能获得最顶尖的工具。

Programming education is undergoing an AI‑driven revolution. Restricting students’ access to the most advanced tools actually widens the technology gap. GitHub once promised to empower the next generation of developers through its Education program—please do not let that promise remain just a slogan. We need advanced models that understand complex logic and help us tackle large‑scale projects.

Sign below to support us in delivering this message to GitHub. Let’s work together to ensure that every student who loves coding, regardless of financial background, has access to the best tools available.