Students succeeded in blocking traffic entering the university

More than 100 members of Welsh language student union - UMCA - staged a sit down protest across the main entrance to University of Wales Aberystwyth on Monday.

The protest disrupted rush-hour traffic with students vowing to stage their sit-in until 1700GMT.

The protest is over what students claim is a lack of Welsh language education provision.

Students will not give up until there has been a fundamental change. Osian Rhys, Student Guild

"It's about time the University shows its support for a Welsh-language federal college." said Catrin Dafydd, President of UMCA.

"This is the only answer that will give the Welsh language stability in the higher education sector.

Unfair treatment

"It is vital that funding is allocated for postgraduate courses through the medium of Welsh, to ensure a supply of lecturers in the future."

Students claim a lack of Welsh speaking administrative staff should be addressed by the university.

They also claim that posters, general correspondence and adverts are either monolingual or have English put on top of Welsh.

"At the moment, Welsh-speaking students are being treated unfairly," said Osian Rhys, Welsh language officer at the student guild.

"Education through the medium of Welsh here is very patchy and is minute in comparison to what is available in English.

Demonstrators are unhappy about the status of the Welsh language

"Even this bare provision is often dependent upon a few individuals who are willing to make an extra effort to provide it.

"Students will not give up until there has been a fundamental change.

Students claim the Welsh language must be given a central place in the higher education sector, and a Welsh-language federal college is the only solution.

Welsh Education Minister Jane Davidson said that £1.23m for Welsh medium provision had gone to institutions this year.

Under this provision, £222,500 has also been allocated to higher education establishments at Aberystwyth, Bangor and Carmarthen.

But UMCA believes the Welsh Assembly Government needs to improve its attitude towards Welsh.

A University of Wales spokesman said the institution had no comment to make at this stage.