Students held protest in the city today to highlight what they describe as them being ‘priced out’ of a third level education.
Students from UCC and MTU, along with the Union of Students in Ireland were protesting on Grand Parade today to highlight the cost of going to college.
The USI says Ireland has the highest fees in Europe and are calling for the annual contribution to be scrapped.
UCC and MTU Students’ Unions say issues such as students staying in hostels, commuting long distances, and using food banks is proof that many are struggling with the cost of college…
Speaking to RedFM News, Maeve Richardson from the UCC Students’ Union says students are angry about the lack of progress:
"We're in a situation where college education has been so inaccessible for so many years. Again, we saw nothing really, you know, meaningful for students in the budget again this year. We want to see the abolishment of the student contribution charge. we want to see all the barriers to education be broken down, whether that be rents, cost of living or cost of college. We're not taking no for an answer on this. The fees have gone up so much. the castle's report was produced in 2016. and most critical priorities, you know, we're able to identify that the best option for higher education funding is publicly funded higher education through taxation, and we are sick of seeing it not being implemented. We will not take this anymore."
