To Minister for Education John O'Dowd & Minister for Employment and Learning Stephen Farry We, the undersigned: - - Demand no cuts to EMA - make the super-rich pay for the crisis, not young people! - Support an end to means-testing - £30 payments for all students! - Oppose all education cuts - staff and students must stand together! - Support the building of a campaign of protest and civil disobedience to oppose any cuts to EMA We totally oppose any cuts to EMA, which would be an attack on the right of young people – particularly those from working-class backgrounds – to access education. The scrapping of EMA in England has led to a drop in college applications. A third of young people who receive EMA say they would be unable to remain in education without it. Rather than cutting EMA – which costs a relatively small £29 million - the Assembly Executive should be kicking out the PFI profiteers, who are draining billions from our public services. This is just another attempt to make young people and ordinary families pay for the bail-out of the banksters and the capitalist crisis. We call for a fully funded, public education system, free at the point of use. We call for the scrapping of means-testing for EMA. We will support a determined campaign based on students and education workers - with demonstrations, occupations and student strikes - if the Assembly Executive attempts to slash EMA. We call on NUS-USI, the students’ unions and the trade union movement to lead this fight.