Danish students join European protest wave against education funding cuts

Danish authorities proposes scrapping allowance strategy for students from wealthier families.

Thousands of young radical successful Denmark person demonstrated against a authorities program to chopped pupil stipends nether a decades-long allowance scheme, adding to a question of younker unrest crossed Europe.

Organisers said up to 13,000 students marched from Copenhagen’s metropolis hallway quadrate to parliament implicit projected cuts to escaped up funds for defence spending connected Monday, nether the banner “Enough is Enough”.

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The rally echoed pupil protests successful France that dispersed to different European countries successful caller weeks, and that morphed into wider grievances implicit the outgo of surviving and lodging crises impacting young radical crossed the continent.

Student associations said immoderate 40,000 students were connected onslaught astatine 57 schools crossed Denmark implicit the projected cuts.

Since 1970, each students enrolled successful schools oregon assemblage successful Denmark implicit the property of 18 person automatically received the pupil allowance careless of their parents’ income.

Students presently person 1,154 kroner ($173) a period for those who unrecorded with their parents, and 7,426 kroner ($1,116) for those who unrecorded connected their own.

Under the caller authorities proposal, the allowance would beryllium abolished for students surviving with parents earning implicit 700,000 Danish kroner ($105,248).

Only students surviving with parents earning betwixt 419,589 kroner ($63,087) and 700,000 kroner ($105,248) a twelvemonth would beryllium eligible for the allowance, with stipends staggered based connected their parents’ income.

Students rally successful Copenhagen against Danish authorities plans to betterment the pupil allowance system, November 4, 2026 [Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard/Reuters]

Heavy constabulary presence

Copenhagen constabulary were retired successful unit during the demonstration.

Thousands of young radical chanted “Broken Promises” and carried signs speechmaking “Save SU”, the Danish acronym for the pupil allowance, “Less Support, Less Educated” and “Don’t Cheat the Young”.

“In Denmark, we get backing and economical enactment for getting an education, and we’re precise arrogant of this,” said 1 protestation organiser, Danish High School Students Association president Oscar Tonsberg Hoffmann.

He told AFP that it would beryllium incorrect to dismantle “one of the world’s strongest acquisition systems”.

Kieran Hindshaw, a 23-year-old agronomy student, said helium felt betrayed by the government.

“I’m infuriated that we yet get a supposedly ‘red’ authorities successful Denmark that includes the near parties … we get cuts to our payment and to the economies of young radical whilst they’re backing firm taxation reductions and warfare,” helium said.

The Higher Education Ministry said astir 14,000 students are expected to suffer their stipends, and immoderate 8,000 would spot it reduced.

The authorities has besides projected that unemployment benefits for caller assemblage graduates beryllium paid lone to those who person worked during 18 of the past 24 months of their studies.

Industry Minister and Social Liberal Party person Martin Lidegaard has meantime said the cuts “are not pleasant decisions”.