CANBERRA Ilkay Gundogan Trikot WM 2018 , March 25 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Australian students took to city streets on Wednesday to protest against the federal government's proposed deregulation of higher education fees.
The National Union of Students (NUS) organized the marches across the country to highlight the impact of the controversial deregulation bill, and give voice to their fears that undergraduate degrees could soon cost upwards of six figures.
The legislation would result in government funding to tertiary institutions being cut and the NUS fears universities would make up this funding shortfall by charging students more for their degrees.
The reforms have twice been rejected by the senate, but Education Minister Christopher Pyne has said he will "never give up" until the bill had been passed.
March organizers praised the 1000-strong crowd of students that gathered on Wednesday outside the State Library in Victoria to march for fairer reforms, with thousands more marching across other cities Julian Brandt Trikot WM 2018 , including Canberra, Sydney, Newcastle, Hobart Joshua Kimmich Trikot WM 2018 , Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane.
The NUS is pushing for the abolition of deregulated fees on undergraduate degrees, a fairer student income support system and better funding for universities across the nation.
Under the proposed changes, the cap on the amount of money students can borrow under the Higher Education Contributions Scheme (HECS) would be removed Antonio Rudiger Trikot WM 2018 , and interest would be charged on the amount borrowed by the students.
The NUS is concerned some undergraduate degrees would take years to pay off, and the changes would burden students with massive debt before they secured a full time job.
With reduced government funding, universities fear they would have to increase class sizes, shed staff Thomas Muller Trikot WM 2018 , close campuses and discontinue some courses.
By Yoo Seungki
SEOUL, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Private organizations from South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed to hold a joint event in Seoul next month to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the historic June 15 Declaration, local media reported Friday.
Representatives from the South Korean preparatory committee for the event, composed of private organizations Timo Werner Trikot WM 2018 , met in Shenyang, China for three days to Thursday with their DPRK counterparts and those representing Koreans living abroad.
After the meeting, they agreed to hold the joint commemorative event in Seoul from June 14 to 16 to mark the 15th anniversary of the June 15 Declaration, which was issued after then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and late DPRK leader Kim Jong-il met in Pyongyang in 2000.
The agreement on the venue was orally reached Mesut Ozil Trikot WM 2018 , and not mentioned in the joint press release by the preparatory committees of the two Koreas, which showed differences over candidate places where the event is hold, including Pyongyang.
It would be the first such event in seven years since 2008 when the joint ceremony was last held in Mt. Kumgang, a scenic mountain in southeastern DPRK.
"The agreement showed more flexibility (in inter-Korean issues) intrinsic in the current government than under the Lee Myung-bak government Toni Kroos Trikot WM 2018 ," Cheong Seong-chang, senior analyst at the private Sejong Institute, told Xinhua.
Cheong said it would send a positive signal to the DPRK as the agreement could be interpreted by the DPRK as a sign that the Park Geun-hye administration is laying stress on past agreements between leaders of the two Koreas.
The researcher forecast that the joint event will contribute to creating a thawing mood in the frosty inter-Korean relations, but he stressed that the South Korean government should make a sharp turn in its attitude toward the May 24 sanctions imposed in 2010 by Seoul against Pyongyang.
The sanctions have banned all inter-Korean economic cooperation and exchanges except the Kaesong industrial complex. Seoul claimed that it was imposed after the DPRK's torpedo attack against a South Korean battleship Julian Draxler Trikot WM 2018 , in which Pyongyang has repeatedly denied its involvement.
Seoul has maintained a position that the sanctions would not be lifted unless the DPRK takes responsible action. South Korea has called for apology and measures taken by the DPRK to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
Cautiousness remained that the joint event may create too optimistic views about improved inter-Korean relations. "The event will have a positive influence on restoring inter-Korean relations, but distrust is still strong between the South-North authorities. And, it is not an agreement between governments," said Yang Moo- jin Sami Khedira Trikot WM 2018 , professor at the University of North Korean Studies.
The professor said that the Park Geun-hye government had yet to make clear its position that it will inherit and develop the spirit of the June 15 Declaration, worrying about possible conflicts between people in South Korea, especially between conservatives and progressives.
The two sides also agreed to hold a separate joint event of private organizations to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's independence from the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule.
The venue for the liberation event failed to be agreed upon during the meeting as further discussions are needed given the significant meaning of the liberation to both Seoul and Pyongyang.
The private groups agreed to designate the two-month period from June 15 to Aug. 15 as the inter-Korean joint movement to open a new "June 15 reunification era" by carrying out various non- political inter-Korean events and exchanges in culture and sports.
The South Korean government is highly likely to approve the joint event to be held in Seoul as it already gave the green light to its private groups' meeting with their DPRK counterparts in Shenyang. Such meeting was first held since 2010 when the May 24 sanctions were imposed by South Korea.