Protesters gathered outside the University of Manchester before marching to a rally.
Students and unions hold protests
Protests are being held in London and Manchester against rising student tuition fees and public spending cuts.
Thousands have joined a joint rally in Manchester organised by the National Union of Students and TUC.
In central London, thousands of students are taking part in a noisy protest march which is heading towards Whitehall and Westminster.
Lecturers’ union leader, Sally Hunt, accused the government of being at “war with young people”.
About 3,000 people are estimated have taken part in a march through Manchester, which brought together protests against higher tuition fees with wider trade union opposition to spending cuts and job losses.
“It is betraying an entire generation,” Ms Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, told the rally.
She attacked the government for raising tuition fees in England to a new upper limit of £9,000 per year and for scrapping education maintenance allowances for college students.
Universities Minister David Willetts said the changes to student finance were an improvement which put “students in the driving seat”.
“Our student and university finance reforms are fairer than the present system and affordable for the nation,” he said.
TUC assistant general secretary Kay Carberry told the rally in Manchester that young people should not pay the price for the government’s “reckless gamble” with the economy.
Ms Carberry said: “In the City, bankers are popping champagne corks and celebrating their bonuses.
“It’s business as usual for them, while young people up and down Britain are being forced to pick up the tab for a financial crisis and recession that they didn’t cause.”
Emma Bates, aged 17, from Greenhead College in Huddersfield, explained why she was taking part in the protest.
“We are not going to take all these government cuts lying down. The only way of doing that is by protesting.”
Saturday’s rallies will be the latest in a series of demonstrations by students.
On the day MPs voted to raise fees, there were angry scenes on the streets of London as thousands of students marched through the capital.
NUS president Aaron Porter addressed the joint student and union rally in Manchester Police in London have handed out leaflets to demonstrators explaining the right to protest.
Protesters taking part in the rally in Westminster will also be using technology to avoid being held in a police “kettle” – with the launch of a mobile phone application designed to identify blocked routes.
Employment Minister Chris Grayling said the trade unions needed to understand that the youth unemployment challenge facing this government was a “direct consequence of the failings of Labour”.
“We have inherited a legacy of 600,000 young people who have never worked since leaving school or college,” he said.
“We think young people deserve better – that’s why we’re investing in apprenticeships to create long-term jobs and are developing work experience opportunities so that young people get the skills and experience they need to successfully compete in the labour market.”
Send your pictures and videos to [email protected] or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.