Danish students protest over proposed grant cuts

OSLO -- About 40,000 high school students across Denmark walked out of classes Wednesday to protest government plans to cut student grants, organizers said.

The Danish student organization DGS said students at 57 high schools suspended classes, according to Danish news agency Ritzau.

In Copenhagen, protesters gathered at City Hall Square before marching to Christiansborg, the seat of parliament, carrying banners calling for student support to be preserved. DGS and 20 other education and political youth organizations organized the demonstration.

The government's proposal would remove grants for students living with their parents whose combined parental income exceeds a specified threshold, and reduce payments for some others. The proposed cuts form part of its budget negotiations.

Christina Egelund, minister for Science, Higher Education and Digital Affairs, said she understood students demonstrating for their views, but defended the need to make spending choices amid growing demands for defense and security funding. The grant proposal remained under negotiation, she said.