Aussie students protest against higher education cuts

Thousands of Australian students continue their protest marches against government cuts to higher education.

On Wednesday, a student gathering in front of the University of Technology in Sydney led to clashes with security forces. Sources say Australian police also arrested at least two students there.

After the rally broke up, dozens of angry students staged a sit-in at an intersection, blocking trams and traffic.

Protest organizers say the current rallies are the first in a series of sit-ins and civil disobedience moves aimed at forcing the government of Prime Minister Tony Abbot to give up budget cuts to education funding.

Under the new policies, student loans will increase three times, but they have to pay back up to AUD 120,000 with interest by the time they graduate.

The demonstrators say the cuts will only affect the students from middle-class families and widen the gap between the poor and the rich.

The students also denounced the recent government plans to slash healthcare and education budgets which are expected to have an impact on a large portion of the country’s population.

The developments come after Australia’s Commission of Audit submitted a set of proposals, detailing deep cuts to government payments and services.

The plan recommends that the coalition government slash family payments, and cut spending on core public programs such as healthcare and education by requiring patients and students to pay more.