Thousands of Danish students took to the streets today to demonstrate in front of the Folketing (parliament) to oppose the plans of the centrist left coalition government to cut the financial aid system. Simultaneously, strikes were taking place in dozens of educational institutions across the country.
The executive branch, led by social democrat Mette Frederiksen, intends to abolish the monthly financial assistance—which is currently available to all students over 18 living with their parents whose combined annual income exceeds 710,077 Danish kroner (€95,000).
The proposed reform also stipulates that the benefit amount will vary progressively for students living with their parents if their total income falls between 419,589 and 710,077 Danish kroner (€56,139 to €95,000).
According to organizers, the demonstration gathered over 10,000 students and proceeded without incidents. The march went through the center of Copenhagen to the parliament, where slogans such as 'We will save SU' (monthly allowance, Danish abbreviation) and 'Enough' were chanted.
The amount of SU ranges from 1,154 to 7,426 Danish kroner (€154 to €994) monthly, depending on whether students live with their parents or are already independent. Over the past two decades, successive governments, both right-wing and left-wing, have made changes to the SU system and reduced its duration.
