On Wednesday 19th November 2014, thousands of students from over forty towns and cities, organised by the Student Assembly Against Austerity, marched along the streets of central London protesting against student loans and demanding free education. The protestors clashed with the police who attempted to stop them from entering the Parliament square. This student demonstration was the biggest in the last four years. They carried banners and signs which had slogans such as ‘Free Education, Tax the Rich’ and shouted:
“What do we want? Free Education! When do we want it? Now!” and “Shame on You!”
Missiles were thrown at police officers and in some places,
protective fencing surrounding the parliament square was pulled down.
It all started with the government’s decision in 2010 to
remove the limit on university tuition fees from £3200 per year and raised it
to nearly three times the amount at up to £9000. A recent study by the
Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) has revealed that an average student who
leaves university has a huge debt of about £44,000. About 75% of students who
have taken student loans will only clear them when they are in their fifties. By
that time, most of them will need the money to manage their own families, pay
off their mortgage and fund their children’s education.