U.K. Students in University Fees Protest

Tens of thousands of students across the U.K. took part in protests on Wednesday against their government’s increase in tuition fees. They were speaking out against the three-fold rise in the prices universities can charge, and voicing their opposition to the scrapping of benefits that will harm poor students. The nationwide protest was organized by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC). High school and university students, teachers and lecturers took to the streets to demonstrate. Around 10,000 protestors rallied in London, where there were arrests after ugly clashes left a police officer with a broken arm. The protests were largely trouble-free, unlike those two weeks earlier in which the ruling Conservative Party headquarters was attacked.

Britain’s ruling coalition government have made many cuts to university education, while at the same time allowing universities to increase tuition fees from $5,624 a year to $14,400. They say these measures are necessary to reduce the country’s budget deficit. Most of the public fury is directed at the junior coalition partner, the Liberal Democrats, whose election pledge earlier this year was to abolish tuition and maintain transport benefits for students from low-income families. Their leader has done a total U-turn and broken these promises. Until the late 1990s, British students did not need to pay tuition, and many poorer students received weekly living allowances from the government. Many protestors believe this will kill opportunities for the poor. They carried banners saying: “R.I.P. My Degree.”

http://breakingnewsenglish.com/1011/101125-university_fees.html