EDUCATION Minister Christopher Pyne has hit back at student protesters, asking why they burnt his effigy when he is only asking them “to pay only 50% of their total fees”.

Does asking students to pay only 50% of their total fees (the rest covered by the taxpayer) really warrant burning effigies? #auspol @3AW693 — Christopher Pyne (@cpyne) August 20, 2014

Mr Pyne has responded on Twitter to the demonstration which earlier shut down parts of Melbourne’s CBD. He posted: ‘Does asking students to pay only 50% of their total fees (the rest covered by the taxpayer) really warrant burning effigies?’

Earlier this afternoon, university students burnt an effigy of Mr Pyne as they marched through the streets protesting against the Abbott Government’s university reforms.

Hundreds of students joined the protest at the State Library, hearing speeches from Greens MP Adam Bandt and union leaders before the effigy of Mr Pyne was burnt.

Uni students shut down Swanson St as they march in protest of the Abbott Government's "education cuts" @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/eVlXmRYRJX — Tom Minear (@tminear) August 20, 2014

Protesters chanted: “Chris Pyne, f*** you, we deserve a future too.”

Earlier, Mr Bandt told the crowd that the Abbott Government “(does) not share this country’s modern values” of compassion, equality and democracy.

“(This is) a government of vandals which wants to destroy what is good about this country,” the Greens MP said.

The students were also supported by their teachers, with National Tertiary Education Union president Jeannie Rea also leading the campaign against the Government’s “monstrous, disgusting” higher education reforms.

She accused the Abbott Government of cutting university funding by 20 per cent while forcing up fees by deregulating the system.

“They don’t like having more women at university,” Ms Rea claimed.

Justin Wade, from the Maritime Union of Australia, also spoke and attacked the Government’s “neoliberal agenda”, accusing them of “waging class warfare”.

Hundreds of students then marched through the city and sat down at the intersection of Swanston St and Bourke St, stopping traffic for several minutes before they marched down Bourke St and back along Elizabeth St.

Traffic was initially brought to a standstill throughout the city as the protesters were marshalled by a heavy police presence.

“F*** you, Tony Abbott” T-shirts dotted the crowd as they chanted “No cuts, no fees, no corporate universities”.

Students in Sydney today staged a similar protest where they also burnt an effigy of Mr Pyne.

media_camera Sydney university students also burnt an effigy of the minister. Picture: Rohan Kelly

tom.minear@news.com.au