Support the students
Sinn Féin's Foyle Assembly member, Mary Nelis, has called
on the public to support next week's rally organised by students at
Belfast City Hall.
Urging the public to join the students on Wednesday 17 November she
said: ``The students' campaign against the abolition of tuition fees
and for the restoration of maintenance grants and benefits is one
which should be supported by anyone genuinely interested in the
educational welfare of our young people.
``Successive British governments, in their pursuit of a policy
which prioritises the ability to pay for education, have hindered both
the educational sector and students in their efforts to provide and
avail of a service which should be automatically available as a right.
``The attack on students is indicative of the malaise which exists
within the education sector and can be traced from the absence of
adequate nursery provision, through to the fundamental flaws of the
11-Plus Transfer Test and onto the financial hardships which students
face when moving into third-level education.
``There must be a radical shifting of priorities which properly
reflect the needs of young people, and Sinn Féin fully supports
the students in their campaign to highlight the economic injustices
directed against students in third-level education.''
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