AIT students to attend pre-budget protest in Dublin

Busloads of students from Athlone IT will travel to Dublin next week to protest against the threat of further cuts to third-level education in the upcoming budget. The protest, which has been organised by the Union of Students in Ireland, will take place on Wednesday, November 16. President of the Athlone IT Students' Union, Louise Kane, said it was difficult to predict how many would travel from AIT to the capital, but she hoped the number would be well over 300. "We will be booking as many buses as we need, depending on the level of interest," she said. "We had six busloads go up to Dublin (for a similar protest) last year and we would hope to get more than that this time." Students and their families are also being asked to contact their local TD to express concern about media reports suggesting the Government could be planning to increase the Student Contribution Charge and cut the Maintenance Grant. Ms Kane said the Government had talked about improving access to third-level, but any further increase in the cost of education would "create more barriers" to the sector. "Students are having a difficult time at the moment but we dread to think what might be coming down the line," she said. "Before the general election the Labour party promised not to increase college fees or cut student grants. If that promise is not kept then people who are in class at the moment might not be able to stay in college next year." She said this issue also affected sixth year students in secondary schools, as measures in the budget might determine whether or not they could afford to go to college next year. The USI protest next week will see the students assemble at Parnell Square before marching to Government buildings.