Thousands of teachers and students across London are staging a protest march today in protest at Government cuts to English for Speakers of Other Languages.
The march ends with a mass rally on this-afternoon to protest at funding being withdrawn by the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills.
They start at 12noon from Lambeth College in Brixton and finish at Kennington Park for the 2pm rally organised by Action for ESOL, a coalition of teachers and students, demanding that Further Education Minister John Hayes rethinks the proposed cuts.
Students claiming ‘inactive’ benefits such as income support, disability and housing allowances will have to pay up to �1,200 a year for their English classes, the campaigners point out, along with refugees and asylum seekers.
The campaign has already presented a 20,000-name petition to David Cameron, with another 10,000 signatures added since.
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