Students, staff and trade unions are uniting for two days of action on Tuesday (18 January) and Wednesday (19 January) as part of their campaign to save the education maintenance allowance (EMA).

The action comes ahead of an opposition day debate in Parliament on the Wednesday that was only confirmed today.

On Tuesday colleges and sixth-forms around the country will be holding lunchtime demonstrations and on Wednesday there will be lobby in the House of Commons from 1pm to 4pm.

Following the debate on Wednesday, MPs will vote on a motion that calls on the government to rethink its plans to scrap the financial support.

Moe details on www.saveema.co.uk and www.emacampaign.org.uk as they re known.

Studies show that the EMA is a key factor in improving participation in further education and colleges in some of the most deprived areas of the UK.

If the government breaks its pre-election promise and scraps the EMA, some of the poorest areas in the UK will be affected.

The protests and lobby are being organised by the Save EMA campaign, the National Union of Students (NUS), the National Union of Teachers (NUT), the University and College Union (UCU), the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), Unison, Unite, and the GMB.

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1. Liberal Conspiracy

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7. wmd-gnome

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8. Lauren G

   @greglovelluk http://liberalconspiracy.org/2011/01/13/nationwide-student-protests-on-eve-of-crucual-ema-vote-on-19th-jan/

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