Thousands of students and teachers protest €1.2 billion education cuts in Amsterdam
Thousands of students and teachers marched through central Amsterdam on Tuesday to protest more than 1.2 billion euros in planned cuts to higher education, organizers said.
Student unions, multiple activist groups, the AOb, and the FNV organized the nationwide demonstration. The organizers reportedly timed the protest to influence ongoing coalition formation talks. They stressed that political parties had previously promised not to cut education funding and called on the new cabinet to reverse earlier announced measures.
The protest began at 12 p.m. on the Dam and concluded at 3:30 p.m. Organizers described the cuts as a demolition of higher education and urged supporters to “strike with us, stop the demolition,” AT5 reported.
Tuesday’s demonstration followed a similar mass protest on the Dam in March. A planned follow-up in June was canceled after NS rail workers went on strike, preventing participants from traveling to Amsterdam.
