Thousands of middle and high school students as well as university organizations filled the streets in downtown Athens and Thessaloniki on Monday to protest the situation in public education and the “anti-educational measures” imposed by the conservative government.
Students protest the introduction of stricter disciplinary measures, teaching personnel gaps and crumbling infrastructures
“The students are giving the Education Ministry a suspension,” the Athens Students’ Coordinating Committee, which is spearheading the protest, said in a statement last week, calling on other student groups to join the action.
streets were filled with students in the mobilization taking place in Athens and Thessaloniki against the government’s anti-educational measures.
“Date on the Streets”
“Monday, November 4, pupils, students and teachers from all over the country are taking to the streets because we do not accept the tragic situation in our schools. Why do we want modern schools, with appropriate infrastructure, that will give us the knowledge we need to pursue our dreams and goals and will not function as examination centers providing only superficial knowledge!”, said the Athens Students’ Coordinating Committee, speaking to news website in .gr.
As a student pointed out, referring to the government, “for them the needs of the students are a cost, our dreams are a cost. They choose not to give money for Education and other needs, ours and our families’. But the students have learned to fight for our rights and what has finally improved in our schools happened after our struggles”.
“We are not numbers, we are not numbers” reads a student banner.
Students said they also protest the unfair suspension of students, even on hourly basis “because a student laughed when he was supposed not to,” they said in an example.
The students in Thessaloniki also called for a rally, stressing that “enough is enough with the unfair expulsions and “they terrorize our classmates” students in Thessaloniki stressed.
Furthermore, they said they oppose the Education Ministry decisions to merge classes and departments leading students to the forceful change of school, sometimes several kilometers away form their homes and at a transport cost paid by the parents.
They demand that gaps in teaching personnel be filled and infrastructure problems with often falling ceilings and other issues.
The students plan to continue their protests during the week.
