75% of Academic Departments Occupied by Students in Greece

by imc athens
Certain clauses in the Greek Constitution (stating, among others, that education has to be public and free for all and that no police forces are allowed to enter university grounds) have made the enforcement of a neo-liberal agenda to the country's higher education institutions particularly difficult.

However, the Conservative government is now attempting to push forward crucial changes in the functioning and role of the country's Higher Education institutions. A so-called "committee of experts", appointed by the government itself, has released a list of proposed changes:

But the students are determined not to go down without a fight. As of 7th of June, 320 academic departments are occupied (representing over 75% of the country's total):

• All of Thessaloniki's 70 Academic Departments are occupied, including Conservative strongholds such as the University of Macedonia and the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science.
• Online map showing all occupations accross the country
• An International Art and Activism Caravan is broadcasting live from the Occupied Polytechnic School of Athens
• Video from the occupied universities
• A photo-essay from Thessaloniki's Occupations | Photos from last week's demonstrations in
  Athens [ 1 | 2 | 3 ]| Thessaloniki [ 1 | 2 ] | Ioannena | Patras | Volos

On the 8th of June over 15,000 students demonstrated in Athens and another 7-10,000 marched in Thessaloniki. Riot police tried to break up the Athens demonstration by using tear gas.
Photos from Athens [ 1 | 2 | 3 ] and Thessaloniki

The list of proposed changes include:

• De-registration of students after (X times 1,5) years - where X is the minimum number of years required for completion of their course
  (now unlimited)
• Limiting the number of times allowed to sit for a module to four
  (now unlimited)
• Allowing for easier police access to university grounds, the long-term aim being the complete erasure of campus sanction
  (to date, police are not allowed to enter university property unless specifically instructed to do so by the university's "asylum committee", with the latter's decision-making process being rather complex)
• To end the free distribution of academic books to students
  (since the Constitution states education has to be free for all, universities have to provide required readings to their students free of charge)
• To end student transfers
  (To date, students meeting certain economic, social and/or health criteria can apply for a transfer to the academic department closest to their area of residence)
• To introduce managerial positions in the universities
  (To date, all administrative decisions fall under the juridistiction of academic staff

The above have been incorporated into a law proposal which, according to media reports, will be brought forward by the government and the Education Ministry in July. Another crucial point of the proposed law includes the editing of Article 16 of the Constitution (currently stating that all education should be public and free for all) in order to allow for the foundation of Private Universities in the country.