On the 5th of December 2018 nearly two thousand students of the University of Pavia took to the streets in order to protest against prospective cuts to students' bursaries and the collegiate system of the University of Pavia. A number of University lecturers also joined the protest. The University of Pavia has enjoyed higher than average governemental income toward students bursaries and eleven University Colleges.
Under Italian law support for Higher Education reaches students and Universities via regional government, Regione Lombardia in the case of the University of Pavia. New criteria for resource allocation currently under consideration by regional government, however, may appreciably decrease the quota of funding reaching the students of the University of Pavia and the Colleges at Pavia.
The Chancellor of the University of Pavia and the President of EDiSU, the body in charge of governing the eleven University Colleges present at Pavia and students' bursaries , are engaging Regione Lombardia in order to reverse the threat of the cuts. They can count on extensive support from the students and staff of the University of Pavia in this endeavour and first and above on the support of students living and working in the Colleges of the University, including the students of Volta who had a strong role and presence in the demonstration of 5 December 2018.
Image: a photograph of the demonstration of 5 December 2018 against the prospective cuts to students' grants and University Colleges at the University of Pavia.
