Demonstrating secondary education students hurled DVDs towards the Greek Parliament on Tuesday, a symbolic act of protesting the books shortages at schools. The Ministry of Education has not provided primary and secondary education students with books yet, but handed out photocopies and DVDs with the first chapters of textbooks.
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The Ministry has assured, students will get their books by middle of October. Schools started on September 12th. However, in some schools, students do not have neither photocopies nor DVDs.
Here lays the Greek Education in front of the Parliament….
No wonder students call Anna Diamantopoulou “Minister of Education and DVD”….
Some 600 students protested in downtown Athens this morning and gave a new demonstration appopintment for the upcoming Thursday. The students protested not only the shortages in books but also the spending cuts in education, the schools mergers and the reforms that block their labour future.
video: Students chanting slogans
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Is it any clearer now WHY there are no books? I read all sorts of things.
officially because the book budget approval was delayed. Why the Minister did not urged it? Unofficially…. you know…
Shame. Really shame. My son who is second Gymnasiou says – I cannot believe this. Government gives opportunity for kids to learn until books are ready but kids just throw this dvd’s and ruin it. I can not agree more. (My son also has no books)
I do not want to compare this with “those” that have been burning books, but careful.
Now this is some double expense. Printing DVD’s and printing books.
I have been to countries where 3 kids learn from one book. Many of us have PC’s at home and the ministry for education has even posted all books on the net – so who wants – he can learn.
I suspect the protest is based on the anxiety that the promised books will never appear. Likewise no more DVDs. Where’s the money coming from, since any spare was long secreted away by the corrupt?
funding the DVDS? good question and we’ll know the facts in 10 years maybe. apparently DVDs are cheaper than books.
I agree that they shouldn’t throw the DVDS but I disagree with some other things you write. I know a family with 3 school kids – one of them preparing for university – and one PC + one tiny notebook. Learning at home impossible. Furthermore, on internet there are only some chapters of the books. And if kids can do it like that, they wouldn’t need to go to school either. I think it’s a shame what’s going on with the textbooks this year and it has neve rhappened before to this extend.
what i find disgusting is that the distribution of books was not important enough to warrant speedy resolution through the goverment and the bodies responsible for education but the goverment manages to resupply the police with around 900.000 euro worth of teargas in double quick time. im glad their priorities are set right.
The idea of using DVD’s as I understood was just for the start – before the books are delivered to students (mid or end of October).
Not saying it is easy to learn in situation you describe – but if you do not have where to turn – you have to use what is there (not to ruin it). Protest is proper expression of being unsatisfied, but unfortunately nothing constructive came out of it – right? I wish something was changed with it …
I completely agree that it is a shame what is done with the books, but also why did alarm only sounded on 10th of September or somewhere there and not earlier? No books noise should have been made earlier.
Of course, you’re right, drdincic, I just gave a broader spectrum of the problems of families with school kids.