Irish students protest over uni reforms, originally uploaded by solomonsmfield.
STUDENTS MARCH: STUDENT protesters brought traffic to a standstill in Dublin city centre yesterday afternoon as an estimated 15,000 young people took to the streets to voice concern about the potential reintroduction of third-level fees.
Students gathered in Parnell Square at lunchtime ahead of the march, which culmintated with a rally outside Leinster House where the protesters were addressed by student leaders and opposition politicians.
The students cited budgetary cutbacks in the education sector, a €600 increase to the annual student registration charge announced in the Budget and recent comments by Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe on the possible reintroduction of third-level fees as the fuel for their protest.
The protest was organised by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), the representative body of some 250,000 third-level attendees in the State.
USI president Shane Kelly said he was delighted with the response of students, which he said was one of the largest student protests in years.
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3 comments:
this should be inspirational to students here, not enough is being done about fees by students and student organizations. back in 2000 we lost the battle over fees but general apathy towards the issue means the war is likely to be lost as well
This was an amazing demo. Also, it should be noted that around 15,000 pensioners were also down protesting against proposed plans to scrap their free medical cards. Old and young united in struggle! I like it!
Students across the world arranged protests as part of the “International Day of Action against the Commercialization of Education” on Nov.5th: http://www.emancipating-education-for-all.org/content/record-protests-part-international-day-action-so-far
Let’s get organized and unite in our struggle for Free and Emancipating public Education - worldwide!
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