Students protest against university fees and lack of jobs
Students demonstrate in central London Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA WireStudents hold NUS placards Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA WireProtesters carry a banner attacking the Liberal Democrats for their broken pledge on raising student fees Credit: ITV News
Government reforms have made university system 'fairer'
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has released this statement ahead of a student protest against cuts to university funding:
The Government's reforms have made the university system fairer and more progressive.
Most students will not pay upfront to study; there are more generous loans, grants and bursaries for those poorer families and loans are only repaid once graduates have jobs and are earning over £21,000.
Students, like other citizens, have the right to participate in peaceful protest.
– Department for Business, Innovation and Skills spokesman
Some 200 people from the march occupied 30 Millbank – the building that houses the Conservative party's campaign headquarters – and a stand-off with police ensued.
Fourteen people – police and activists – were injured and police arrested 153 demonstrators.
Police in riot gear clashed with protesters, who had smashed windows and mounted the roof of the building.
The NUS distanced itself from the violence, with its president Aaron Porter saying he "absolutely condemned" the scenes.
The decision to scrap the education maintenance allowance (EMA) - a grant for the poorest teenagers to help them stay in school or college - has had the biggest impact, Mr Burns said.
The final outcome of the decision to raise tuition fees to a maximum of £9,000 per year is "not yet known", he added.
Unison: 'Young people are being robbed of their futures'
Tory education policies are turning the clock back to the time when education was the preserve of the rich.
Young people, especially those from poor families, are already being put off going to university by the huge cost. The loss of the EMA has forced many others to drop out of school altogether.
Young people, faced with a tough jobs market or an education they cannot afford, are left without options.
The effects will be as expensive for our society as they will be long-lasting, but the real tragedy is for those young people robbed of a future.
– Roger McKenzie, assistant general secretary of Unison
The NUS has warned that the UK could be heading for an "epidemic of university dropouts", with a study showing that more than two in five had seriously considered leaving their course.
Of these, almost half of undergraduates said money worries were a key factor in considering whether to drop out.
The NUS have said young people were being left with a "sense of desperation" for their futures amid major changes to education and a tough job market.
Many students know they are going to be in debt, Mr Burns has said Credit: Ben Birchall/PA Wire
The prospect of leaving university thousands of pounds in debt and facing a scramble for graduate jobs was a major concern, the union warned.
Mr Burns said there were strong feelings on campuses around the country about education reforms, including the move to treble tuition fees and financial support for students as well as youth unemployment.
Today's students know they are going to be "tens of thousands of pounds in debt before they even graduate and they know there's little prospect of graduate employment," he said.
"There's a sense of desperation that people have. They're slowly seeing opportunities being taken away and are powerless to do anything about it."