Student protest lose NUS backing

Later this month on the 19th the streets of London will host a national student protest organised by the Student Assembly Against Austerity and the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts. Thousands of students are expected to participate in the demonstration as they fight against rising tuition fees and privatisation. The protest will set in motion a series of planned events, across a variety of university campuses, that will continue right up to the general election in May as a means to pressure politicians into taking student concerns seriously. With the 19^th in sight, the National Union of Students (NUS) has recently decided to withdraw its support causing profound criticism from students calling it "ridiculous." Toni Pearce, who is the president of NUS argued and justified their decision saying that the rally could create "unacceptable level[s] of risk to our members". Further to that, he argued that the demonstrations will not be inclusive of students with disabilities and there is no public liability insurance set in place.

Fiona Edwards, who is one of the organisers of the Student Assembly Against Austerity announced that: "There are no legitimate safety concerns, so I can only guess it's a political objection. ["¦] We've negotiated a safe and accessible route with the police, and we're working closely with councils and Transport for London to make sure the day runs as smoothly as possible."

Image courtesy to Flickr, Creative Commons