Thousands of young British citizens are marching in central London Wednesday, November 15, to demand an end to tuition fees, with the support of Momentum and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Organized by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC), the march seeks to capitalize on the surge in popularity of Labour's free education policies.
"We're demanding education free at the point of use by taxing the rich — the abolition of tuition fees, full non-means tested living grants for all students, and an end to the job cuts affecting university and college campuses across the country. This is perfectly achievable — we're already winning the argument. We helped elect Corbyn, and shape the party's education policies in their 2017 manifesto, which helped wipe out the government's majority," NCAFC member Andy Warren told Sputnik.
Students assemble in London to march against #tuition fees and in support of free #education #FreeEdNOW @NCAFC_UK pic.twitter.com/rxFLHa3EHC
— Sputnik UK (@SputnikNewsUK) November 15, 2017
Organizers expect over 10,000 students to attend, and Corbyn has urged young people to join.
In a video posted on social media, the leader said everybody should have access to "high quality" education "from the cradle to the grave — without being forced into debt and anxiety."
"No one should be shut out. That's why I support the demonstration for free education organized by NCAFC. And Labour in government will deliver it," Corbyn said.
The next Labour Government will create a National Education Service in England. #AoCConf pic.twitter.com/5G2QpszOuT
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) November 15, 2017
More than 60 student unions and colleges are actively mobilizing across the country including Durham, Oxford and Cambridge and students are traveling to London from as far as Aberdeen, Bangor and Falmouth.
'I believe that free education is a right for everyone' — a London student tells Sputnik #FreeEdNOW @NCAFC_UK pic.twitter.com/wKn0zPiJpb
— Sputnik UK (@SputnikNewsUK) November 15, 2017
The demonstration follows significant student mobilizations in 2014 when over 10,000 students attended a demonstration in support of scrapping tuition fees, and the recent NUS campaign to boycott the National Student Survey, backed by 25 universities including Warwick, Oxford and Cambridge.
#TaxtheRich: Students voice their opposition to tuition fees as they protest in London #FreeEdNOW @NCAFC_UK pic.twitter.com/08fDJBdBtD
— Sputnik UK (@SputnikNewsUK) November 15, 2017
NCAFC organizer Hansika Jethnani said the group and students alike "refused to lie down in the face of the government's relentless attacks on education."
"Tuition fees are fundamentally illegitimate — education is a public good — not a product — and it should be funded by progressive taxation on the rich. The orthodoxy that students can be charged more and more has been shattered," she added.
