CZECH REPUBLIC

Thousands of students protest university reform

Thousands of students protested against draft university reforms in the centre of Prague and marched to the government office last Wednesday, reports the Prague Daily Monitor. Students carried banners against Education Minister Josef Dobes, the planned introduction of tuition fees and other reform steps.

Some 7,000 students took part in the march, according to the police, while the organisers estimate the number of demonstrators at up to 10,000. Along with students from Prague universities and colleges, students from other regions also joined the protest.

On Tuesday, about 6,000 young people took part in a march in Brno, the second largest town in the Czech Republic, to express disagreement with the reform plans of Dobes and the government's stance on education in general. Neither Dobes nor any of the other ministers addressed the demonstrators.
Full report on the Prague Daily Monitor site