Thousands of protesters marched through London on Wednesday to express anger about the rising cost of higher education. The UK joins a growing list of countries that saw angry crowds of students taking to the streets over the past year. South Africa and Chile both had large protests of the cost of higher education in the last few months.
A plan to cut government money that supports full-time university students is the reason for the London protests. This money, called maintenance grants, helps full-time higher education students with the cost of living. Students do not have to pay the money back to the government.
British Member of Parliament George Osborne announced in June that maintenance grants would no longer be available. Osborne said that starting in 2016, the government will offer maintenance loans instead. These loans will need to be paid back. Cuts to supports for students will affect low and middle income students the most, critics say. The problem of higher education costs for poorer people was also at the center of the South African demonstrations.
