Student rally in Square

Press, 16 April 1980, Page 6

Student rally in Square

Students will rally in Cathedral Square at 1 p.m. today to protest against cuts in education spending by the Government.

University of Canterbury students will march from the Arts’ Centre via Worcester Street to the Square. Lincoln College students. will march from the Bridge of Remembrance. *

The two groups will meet to draw to the public’s attention the level of university funding, which they assert is hopelessly inadequate. Universities are already suffering from •; shortages of staff, equipment, and library books, according to Mr.s.B. Kingsbury, the education officer of the University of Canterbury Students’ Association.

“The low level of the latest grant will force the universities to limit entry to certain courses, and to reduce the quality of the services they provide,” he said.

The students were also against the new bursary system. Mr Kingsbury asserted that the system was unworkable, and that the

Education Department had already taken on 28 more staff just to process the applications for hardship grants. Mr J. J. Terris, the Labour member of Parliament for Western Hutt, will, address the crowd , in the Square and will accept a petition deploring the education cuts. Mr';Terfis, Who is a member? of .'the Labour caucus committee pn ; education,, will take the petition back to Wellington to present to Parliament.