It's a little after 10 o'clock but these secondary school children will be having no lessons today. They are striking, not for better pay and conditions, not to show their solidarity against the austerity measures imposed on their country, they are striking because they have no books for their classes.
School books, from primary school to
senior high school are usually printed over the summer months ready
for the beginning of school in September but this year a breakdown in
the payments to the various tenders involved meant crucial delays in
the supply of paper to the printers. Many school children have not
had any lessons in the subjects that still have no books while other
teachers are trying to fill the gaps with photocopies.
One of the protesting schoolgirls told
me that there were a number of reasons for striking, “We have no
books, our classrooms are overcrowded and they haven't brought any
heating oil.”
One mother of a 13-year-old who
attends the same school said that the parents had been told that
there would be no heating oil delivered to the school this year
because there was no money. Temperatures in this village in the
mountains 15km from the centre of Thessaloniki in northern Greece
fall to minus in the winter. At least a week of school is lost, most
years, due to snow.
The headmaster of the 3rd
high school of Hortiati declined to comment but one teacher did tell
me that he felt the students did have a good point on a number of
their issues.
The proprietor of the local book shop
who supplies the parents with the schoolbooks said that the books
were usually delivered last minute but this year was worst than ever.
However on the subject of the children's action she was a little more
cynical, “They are just out to miss some school.” She said
adding, “This is what they learn, raise a banner, shout, strike and
you'll get noticed.” she added that if they really wanted to do
something constructive they could organise, “The ministers are not
going to take notice of a bunch of schoolkids who don't want to go to
school.”
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This years list of new activities |
The schools are each allocated €500
initial expenses to cover office supplies, photocopies, maintenance
and heating fuel. The delay in books has meant that a large portion
of that has gone on photocopies and none is left to cover heating oil
which is set for a huge price hike due to the removal of any tax
subsidies, bringing it to the same price as road diesel.
Now for the punchline... this is not
the first year that this has happened and it's not ECB's austerity
measures that are at its root. This is the mismanagement that Germany
is voting on whether to entrust with another bailout loan.
BREAKING NEWS: Germany voted to give more.
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