Australian Students protest against hefty university fees increases by The Age 7:56pm 31st Mar, 2004   March 31, 2004    Hundreds of students rallied across Australia as part of a national day of protest against the federal government's higher education policy. The students are protesting hefty university fee hikes and a drop in funding levels.    Students took over the foyer of Melbourne's RMIT's chancellory office as part of fee protests. Hundreds of students rallied at Sydney University before marching down Parramatta Road to join other student protesters at the University of Technology Sydney. A similar number marched through Melbourne city from 2pm this afternoon.    About 100 students broke away from the rally and stormed the RMIT offices on the corner of Russell and La Trobe streets. Police tried to stop the protesters but after scuffles they left the building. It is believed that about 30 students made their way into the vice-chancellor's office.    Sydney University Student Representative Council president Felix Eldridge said every Australian had a right to affordable education. Mr Eldridge said if high school graduates were asked to pay thousands of dollars in university fees or commit to a debt the size of a mortgage many would abandon the idea of going to university.    "And guess what? The ones who give up are likely to be ... the ones who are disadvantaged already," he told the protest.    Mr Eldridge also warned the Howard government that students were "their worst enemy". "Because of his systematic destruction of public education and the fair go, we are going to make sure that this is the last year that John Howard is the prime minister of this country," he said.    RMIT is one of the few Victorian universities that has not yet made a decision about raising fees. NUS (National Union of Students) student officer Paul Coats said he hoped the students protest would convince the university not to raise fees. - AAP    Students plan protests over fees    March 31, 2004 - 9:04AM    University students Australia are expected to take part in a national day of action today to protest against moves to increase course fees. The student protest has been backed by the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) who say changes to federal government legislation have seen nearly a quarter of Australia's public universities move to increase their HECS charges. The NTEU says many more universities are expected to follow suit.    In Melbourne, students will will gather outside the State Library in Swanston St at 2pm (AEST), before marching through city streets to protest against fee hikes. Similar rallies are planned for Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth and Sydney, with student protests also being staged in Armidale, Bathurst, Cairns, Darwin, Gippsland, Hobart, Launceston, Newcastle, Wagga Wagga and Wollongong.    The issue sparked violent protests at Melbourne's Monash University last week, where a campus office was occupied by students for an afternoon.    NTEU President Carolyn Allport said student contribution to the cost of their tertiary fees had consistently increased under the Howard Government, and with an increase of up to 25 per cent at many universities coming into effect next year, Australian students could be paying the highest public university fees in the world.    National Union of Students president Jodie Jansen predicted today's protests around Australia would be the "largest, most lively and most militant" student rallies for several years.    - AAP
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