Students protest at Belfast City Hall

 

 Students protest at Belfast City Hall

Belfast students protest against tuition fees hike

Hundreds of students have staged a protest in Belfast city centre against plans to raise third level tuition fees in England as high as £9,000 a year.

All of NI's MPs are expected to vote against the rise in fees in the House of Commons later, but the coalition is expected to win the ballot.
The new minister for employment and learning has warned that third level fees in NI are likely to rise.
Danny Kennedy said the Westminster vote would have a knock-on effect for NI.
"I think my instinct is that it is likely there will be an increase to the tuition fees and I have been warning of that for some time," he said.
"The situation is not entirely clear."
A review of student finance has already concluded that NI fees should remain at current levels. But Mr Kennedy said this was now being examined.
It's understood the new minister is waiting to establish what his Assembly budget will be, before making any decision.
He is also awaiting an updated report on student tuition fees as they apply in Northern Ireland in the light of the Brown report.
Although the proposals deal specifically with universities in England, politicians have warned this will affect thousands of Northern Ireland students who study there.
Mr Kennedy said he could not make a final decision without a budget and hit out at Sinn Fein for holding things up.
"Northern Ireland needs a budget. I do not know how much money my department will have particularly in respect of tuition fees.
"It is vitally important that the party that is holding up this process up of getting a budget, remove their blockages and bring forward a budget so that the Northern Ireland departments, the Northern Ireland ministers and the Northern Ireland people can be made aware as to the implications of the current economic problems we face."