Students across the UK to protest following the further delay of campus reopening

By Roya Shahidi, News Reporter

Socialist Students is organising a national day of action on 21 April to call for tuition fee refunds for students.

The national day of action organised by the group will take place across 26 different university campuses this week, with a protest organised in Bristol for Wednesday afternoon.

The Socialist Students website states that the demo at the University of Bristol will take place on the grass opposite Senate House, BS8 1TH, at 3pm on 21 April.

The national day of action has been planned following the government’s announcement that that there will be no additional return to campus for students on non-practical and non-exempt programmes until 17 May.

The Socialist Students have outlined the following demands: refund our fees and our rent, defend the right to protest, build a democratic and active national student movement, organise for for free education and make the one per cent pay, fight for a socialist alternative to capitalist chaos.

President of UoB Socialist Students Society, Max Satterly-Webley, stated to Epigram that: ‘Students across the country, and in Bristol, have been over-charged and undervalued over the past academic year and beyond.

‘We feel it is crucial for universities to meet our demands to refund tuition fees for this year and make much needed price cuts - especially for foreign students - and reduce accommodation costs for students in university halls across the board.

‘Socialist Students Bristol wants free education for all so we, along with 26 other university societies across the country are coming out on Wednesday to fight for this.’

Jake George, a Socialist Students organiser at Nottingham Trent University said: ‘Students have once again been left behind with the government’s broken promise of a return to real life teaching by April. They’ve failed to make our campuses safe and protect the interests of students and staff.

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‘But we demand that that money is made up for by the government. Our universities have suffered a decade of underfunding which has meant cuts on campus to jobs, student support and mental health services, courses and so on. That’s why we demand that tuition fees are scrapped and replaced with full government funding for free education.’

The full list of locations at which demonstrations will take place on 21 April can be found HERE.

Will you be joining in the protest in Bristol on Wednesday at 3pm?