Danish Students to Protest Financial Aid Cut

Thousands of students in Denmark are expected to protest on Wednesday against the government’s plan to reduce state-funded student allowances, joining a growing wave of youth demonstrations across Europe.

Eleven high school and university student associations will gather at Copenhagen’s City Hall Square from 12:30 pm (1130 GMT) under the banner “Enough is Enough”. 

They will then march to parliament to oppose the proposed cuts, which are intended to free up money for increased defence spending.

Student protests that began in France have spread to other European countries in recent weeks. Copenhagen police have said they will maintain a strong presence during Wednesday’s demonstration.

The Danish High School Students’ Association estimates that about 10,000 young people will attend the protest in the capital, while similar demonstrations are planned in other parts of the country.

Under its draft budget, Denmark’s centre-left government intends to withdraw the state student allowance, known as SU, from students living with their parents if their parents’ combined annual income exceeds 700,000 Danish kroner ($104,440).

Students whose parents earn between 419,589 and 700,000 kroner annually would instead receive a reduced allowance based on a progressive scale.

The grant has traditionally been available to all students aged 18 and above, covering both high school and university education.

The Higher Education Ministry estimates that 14,000 students would lose their allowances entirely under the proposal, while another 8,000 would receive less.

Introduced in 1970, the SU system is a central part of Denmark’s approach to equal access to education, allowing young people to pursue their studies regardless of their parents’ financial circumstances.

The government has also proposed restricting unemployment benefits for recent university graduates to those who worked for at least 18 of the final 24 months of their studies.

Protest organisers have stressed that Wednesday’s demonstrations will be peaceful.

Oscar Tonsberg Hoffmann, president of the Danish High School Students’ Association, accused the government of undermining education by reducing financial support for young people.

He argued that deliberately cutting the allowances of students was difficult to interpret as anything other than hostility towards education.

Hoffmann said students were not missing classes without reason but wanted to demonstrate how seriously they viewed the proposed reductions to their educational opportunities.

“When you deliberately choose to take money out of the pockets of young people who are studying, it’s hard to see it as anything other than hostility towards education,” Hoffmann said. 

“We’re not skipping classes for fun, but to show political decision-makers how seriously we take their cuts to our opportunities to study,” he added in a statement.

About 30,000 high school students from 40 schools are expected to take part in Wednesday’s strike.

According to Hoffmann, student organisations had attempted to engage the government in discussions over the proposed changes but had made no progress.

He criticised the government for reducing financial support for students while refusing to respond to their concerns, describing the approach as a betrayal of future generations.

“When, on the one hand you save money on the backs of young people who are studying and, on the other, you refuse to answer to us for it, in my view it’s quite simply pissing on future generations,” he fumed.

Within the governing coalition, the Socialist People’s Party and the Social Liberal Party had previously opposed cuts to education but have since defended the proposal.

Interior and Economic Affairs Minister Pia Olsen Dyhr has faced questions over the decision, particularly because she had earlier promised that her Socialist People’s Party would protect the student grant system.

Dyhr acknowledged that the proposal did not originate from her party but said it was part of the compromises required to govern, adding that she stood by the agreement.

Industry Minister and Social Liberal Party leader Martin Lidegaard also defended the reductions, describing them as difficult but necessary decisions under an economically responsible policy.