TWENTY demonstrators occupied a University of Birmingham building in protest at plans to make 200 academic staff redundant.
The group of students unfurled banners on a bridge connecting the university’s maths and physics buildings calling for the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Prof David Eastwood.
Others staged a sit-in on a walkway.
The demonstration, which began shortly before noon yesterday, was organised by members of the Stop Cuts Birmingham group.
A statement handed out by the protesters read: “The university is placing many jobs under threat, causing unnecessary stress to staff and causing lasting damage to the development of the university.
“We demand the university does everything in its power to keep fees down and pledges to make sure that education remains a resource that all can access.”
Steve Issitt, president of the Birmingham University and College Union, said he “broadly supported” the student demonstration as long as the action was “measured and moderate”.
He said: “Our aim is to make sure academics at the university keep their jobs, particularly young academics, and we are also sympathetic to the student tuition fees issue.
