Students from across the world are taking to the streets to protest against university tuition fees throughout November.

The original demonstration was planned as an “International Day of Action for Free Education” by the group International Students Movement for Free and Emancipating Education who claimed that students across the world: “are struggling against the commercialization of education”.

It appears to have been organised on the Internet by a group of French and German students with no financial backing.

Yet despite a lack of funds “International Day of Action for Free Education” was a roaring success, observed across the world.

In Canada, thousands of students in Toronto and a dozen other major cities put down their pens and took to the streets.

Bangladesh Students Union observed the international day of action against commercialisation of education at Dhaka university campus. But protests in the Bangladeshi capital were reduced to an exhibition of photographs of the international student movement, as rallies there are currently illegal.

In Germany, a column of students marched through Heidelberg and fixed a banner stating “Gegen den Ausverkauf der Bildung” (Against the selling out of education) on the walls of a castle.

Student protests in Liberia were hampered by a lack of funds with student leaders complaining about “limited promotional materials”. Yet the Liberian protest has been hailed as a breakthrough in being the first student rally in the North African state.

The protests were mirrored in England where the National Union of Students had organised a ’students in the red’ day of action to urge the government to abolish top-up fees.

NUS president, Wes Streeting, said: “All students have to pay £3,145 a year in top-up fees, but they face a postcode lottery when it comes to financial support. Richer universities in the Russell group can offer poorer students an average annual bursary of £1,791 but those from the Million+ group can only offer £680.”

“We want a national bursary scheme, so that poorer students get financial support based on how much they need it, not on where they study,” he said.

University of London students marched on the Department for Education on Friday November 14th (see pictures).

In publicity calling for the demonstration, organisers said: “£200 million “missing” from the governments budget for higher education. Billions in bail outs for the bankers.

“We have seen year-on-year attacks on our right for an education. The latest are cuts to thousands of student grants after a £200 million short-fall from the Department of Innovation, Universities and Schools.

“This comes only a few weeks after the government promised to bail out bankers with billions of tax payer’s money.

“Come to the demonstration to say ‘Why should we pay for the crisis?’”

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