Trinity has once again asked lecturers to facilitate students who want to attend the March for Education tomorrow. Last year, the college’s decision to allow students to attend the march without fear of repercussions was credited with helping to boost turnout.
The Vice-Provost, Chris Morash, and the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Dr Gillian Martin, sent an email to lecturers requesting that arrangements be made to allow students to attend tomorrow’s March for Education without fear of being penalised.
Last year’s demonstration saw 8,000 to 10,000 protesters take to the streets. Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) estimated that their delegation stood at 1,250 students. The march also enjoyed significant support from the College. Speaking to students in Front Square beforehand, Morash highlighted the need to march for “tomorrow and future generations”, and emphasised that “funding for universities in Ireland cannot continue the way it is”.
Also addressing the crowd, then-TCDSU President, Kieran McNulty, said that future years wouldn’t see the same “amount of consensus” around the higher education funding campaign.
The annual march, which is organised by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), is held to protest the lack of funding to third-level education. In recent years, the focus has been on opposing the introduction of a loan scheme, with marchers calling instead for publicly funded education. Last year’s march was widely considered a success due to the amount of demonstrators present, coming after a Budget that saw a marginal increase in the amount of money provided to higher education.
This year’s march comes less than a week before the government will announce its Budget for 2018.
As it stands, the Oireachtas Education and Skills Committee are looking at options to address the higher education funding crisis. This comes after the Cassells Report, which was released in July 2016, outlined three possible remedies to the current situation. While leading figures such as Morash support students’ right to protest on the issue, there is disagreement about which model is the right way forward, with colleges and students divided over the merits of an income-contingent loan scheme.
With no date for a decision on the future of higher education funding in Ireland, the march represents another opportunity for students and other interest groups to influence the eventual outcome. Deputy Secretary General of the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT), Frank Jones, said that the march is “more than just a student demo”.
However, few expect a decision on a new funding model for higher education in the coming weeks.
The March for Education follows the March for Choice, which took place last Saturday, September 30th and saw a record 1,000 students led from Trinity by USI to the Garden of Remembrance.
