Spanish government delays cuts in Erasmus programme after furious student reactions

José Ignacio Wert, the education minister in Spain, has abandoned his plan to cut deeply into the Erasmus scheme, after students reacted furiously on facebook, twitter and several blogs. His plan was to only allow students from low-income households to receive money from the central government. The Spanish part of the monthly allowance is 120 euros. After protests, even from his own party, Wert announced that students who are already abroad will not be hit by the cuts.

After student Maria Rosa Sanchez wrote a sharp article about the cuts, a bomb with the new hashtag #ErasmusRIP exploded on twitter. Over 90 thousand people used it and an online petition was started, that is signed by 150 thousand students right now.

The monthly allowance comes from three sources: the European commission, the student’s home government and local authorities. Already, Spain’s part in the Erasmus program has dropped from 62,7 million euros in 2011 to 16 million euros this year.