A group of students at the London School of Economics are staging an occupation in protest of the ‘marketisation of education.’

It is believed around 40 members of Occupy LSE, mostly made-up of postgraduate students, have locked themselves inside the Vera Anstey Suite, a central administration room at the university, using bicycle locks  “to demand a change to the current university system.”.

The group, who have so far occupied the room which has been dubbed the ‘Free University of London’ for 12 days, have released a list of demands which includes the their wish for the LSE management to lobby the government to scrap tuition fees for both domestic and international students.

The protest is believed to be inspired by the occupation of buildings by students at the University of Amsterdam in recent weeks with similar motives.

The LSE are stressing that exchanges between themselves and Occupy LSE are positive but still ongoing, and a spokesperson from university said: “On Tuesday evening a group of approximately 20 students occupied the Vera Anstey Room in the Old Building at LSE, highlighting a broad range of demands relating to higher education.

“LSE was founded for the betterment of society; it is encouraging that this principle continues to be a guide for many of our students.”

To view the Occupy LSE’s full list of demands click here.

 

Greg Whitaker

 

Photo: theguardian.com