Student Protesters Attacked due to maximizing tuition fees in England

LONDON – Furious student protesters attacked a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, vandalized buildings and battled riot police Thursday as a controversial hike in university fees triggered Britain's worst political violence in years. Thousands of students held demonstrations and sit-ins throughout the country, heaping pressure on the government to reverse course. Small groups of protesters threw flares, billiard balls and paint bombs outside parliament, and officers, some on horses, rushed to reinforce the security cordon. Police said 13 protesters and four officers were injured in the fracas, while seven people were arrested. The scuffles broke out after students marched through central London and converged on the square, waving placards and chanting "education is not for sale" to cap weeks of nationwide protests to pressure lawmakers to reverse course. The tuition vote poses a crucial test for both the Conservative's governing coalition with the Liberal Democrats and the government's austerity plans to reduce Britain's budget deficit. The vote put Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and other Liberal Democrat leaders in an awkward spot. Liberal Democrats signed a pre-election pledge to oppose any such tuition hike, and have reserved the right to abstain in the vote even though they are part of the governing coalition proposing the change. "I'm here because the Liberal Democrats broke their promise," said 19-year-old Kings College student Shivan David from London's Trafalgar Square. "I don't think education should be free but I do think that tripling fees doesn't make any sense. We are paying more for less."

Students reacted with mass protests that have been marred by violence and have paralyzed some campuses. In response, the government modified its plan by raising the income level at which graduates must start repaying student loans and by making more part-time students eligible for loans. The Welsh regional government has pledged to subsidize the higher fees for any student from Wales who enrolls at an English university. Student fees in Scotland are just 1,820 pounds ($2,875) per year, sparking fears of a future stampede of bargain-hunting students from England. Northern Ireland's fees are capped at 3,290 pounds ($5,200) a year.