Students protest in London over loans
Helen Barratt London
Thousands of students descended on London last March to urge Tony Blair to scrap student loans. An estimated 15 000 people marched along the high profile route past the House of Parliament and 10 Downing Street, culminating in a rally in Trafalgar Square--virtually unheard of during the week.
The National Union of Students, which organised the demonstration, believes that virtually all its affiliated institutions were represented, with many students travelling through the night from across the United Kingdom to get to the capital. Many were wearing red to symbolise the state of their finances.
In response to figures showing that many students are forced to live £13 below the government's own poverty line, Owain James, president of the National Union of Students, delivered a petition to 10 Downing Street on the eve of the demonstration. The petition, calling for a fairer funding system, contained the signatures of tens of thousands of students, many of whom had lodged their support for the ongoing campaign at www.payuptony.com
The government announced a review of student funding at the Labour Party conference last year but has yet to set a timetable. The Department for Education and Skills declined to comment on the demonstration, but education secretary Estelle Morris has since promised a review "before the summer," making it clear that the government has ruled nothing in or out.
Owain James commented, "Thousands of students up and down the country are still waiting for the government to improve the state of student funding--as promised last year. Students work longer hours in paid work to try to keep their debts down, with a detrimental effect on their grades. And they still graduate with over £12 000 of debt. If the government is serious about access to education it needs to increase student support, not increase student debt. Access to education should be based on your grades not your bank balance."
studentBMJ 2002;10:89-130 April ISSN 0966-6494
