Bath Students Against Fees and Cuts are already preparing for action in 2015, with the announcement of a march on 31st January, starting at 12:00pm at Bath Abbey. The march is part of a national day of action, which will see marches happen across the country.
Their previous march on 6th December 2014 saw in excess of 100 people, including students and other activists from various supportive organisations (those giving full support included Bath University and College Union (UCU), University of Bath Students Union, Bath Against Cuts, Occupy Bath and the Green Party), marching against tuition fees and the privatisation of education. The march was followed by a rally in the Southgate shopping centre. Speakers included students from both universities, Dr Michael Carley From Bath UCU, Joe Rayment from University of Bath Unison, as well as Dominic Tristram, the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Bath and Ollie Middleton, the Labour Party parliamentary candidate.
The campaigners want to raise awareness and keep up the pressure on politicians and universities, who during the term of the the current coalition government have tripled the amount students have to pay in fees to up to £9000 a year, and more for foreign students.
The description on the Facebook event page reads:
"The movement for free education has to be broad and based in communities as well as campuses. Education is a social good, and what we are demanding will benefit everybody - we have never talked just about the scrapping of fees, but about re-imagining a whole new education system.
Last December, marches for free education in local towns and cities were organised nationwide, including Bath. Now it’s time to march again, louder, bigger and stronger.
We will be assembling outside the abbey at 12 noon, and will be marching through the city with banners, placards, drums and our voices. We are organising a rally at the end of the march, if you or anyone you know might be interested in speaking about free education, the commercialisation of universities, or how government cuts are affecting students and staff, please get in touch with us.
Education is too important to be left in the hands of profiteers and corporations. It's time we took it back!"
The Facebook event for the march is here.
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