Thousands set to march in Edinburgh against education cuts

Marching under the slogan Why Must Our Children Pay?, protesters will be putting pressure on political parties over what they say are devastating cuts to Scottish education.

Teaching union the EIS will join colleagues from the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) on their rally , called There Is A Better Way, to march against massive cuts across all public services.

Around 10,000 people are expected to take part in the march, which will start outside the council's Waverley Court headquarters on East Market Street at 11.30am and end at the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens, whereguest speakers wil address the rally.

• Will you be taking to the streets tomorrow against the education cuts?

In the wake of the Comprehensive Spending Review, Scotland is expected to lose about 3 billion over the next four years and 900 million from next year's budget, according to the Treasury.

Holyrood Finance Secretary John Swinney - who says the cuts from Westminster go deeper - is expected to explain how the reduction to the block grant will affect public services in Scotland next month.

EIS general secretary Ronnie Smith stressed the importance of keeping the pressure on politicians.

He said: "With the massive cuts to public services just announced by the coalition government at Westminster, with the Scottish Government's own budgetary decisions imminent and with Holyrood elections just a few months away, we must keep up the pressure on all political parties to halt the devastating waves of cuts that are causing so much damage to Scottish education.

"The march and rally in Edinburgh tomorrow, organised in conjunction with other public sector unions and the STUC's There Is A Better Way campaign, will be a massive display of public anger over the deep and damaging cuts to our education system and our other public services.

"Thousands of teachers and lecturers, students, parents and others will join with trade unionists from across Scotland and all parts of the public sector to march through the streets of our capital city and send a message that the politicians cannot ignore."

STUC general secretary Grahame Smith said: "Given that we called this event as a launch rather than an end point for our campaign, we are both surprised and delighted by the response we are receiving, not just from our members but from wider Scottish society.

"The intensity of the response will only increase when the implications of the Comprehensive Spending Review sink in."You only have to look at the list of organisations attending and sending supportive messages to understand the depth of anger."

A police spokesman confirmed the force is aware of the planned demonstration.