Photo: In Rom, Italy about 100.000 students demonstrated against the privatisation of education.

International Students meeting (EU Students + D14 Youth) during the EU summit in Laeken

At December 14 various student groups came togheter in order to change experiences about the reformation of education because of the Bologna-declaration and the GATS-treaty. It was decided that we continue the build-up of an European network that will give an answer of protest at an European level against the attack on democratic student rights and the privatisation of education. There was also a propasal to workout an alternative, a platform text that should make it clear what kind of education European students and pupils really need. About 150 students from Greece, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Great Brittan, Austria and a Dutch representative from ESIB (The European students union)attended at the meeting.

There where many examples given that showed that students have more and more problems to study in a „normal“ human way. Students can`t afford their study in several countries because of the introduction of studyfees (or often because of the cuts in studentsalaries- Bafög) – Look at the situation in for instance Austria, Greece, England: 10 until 15%. They want to make education to a product, a profitable product. In Greece pupils are forced to go from the common school system innto a very much more specified schoolsystem. Because of the big resistance the Greec government can`t introduce the Bachelor- and Mastersystem – yet. In England there are teachers who can´t teach because of a lack of good teaching material. Somebody from Vienna (Austria) told that students have to pay studiefees for the first time and that reforms are introduced very fast, one follow immediatly the next one. Because of the many protests various governments are trying to privatise education through the backdoor.

The Bologna-declaration is being accompanied with 2 important keywords: „mobility“ and „quality“. Bologna really means more mobility, but ony for the rich and „best“ student. A big part of the students will not even notice this hihger mobility, on the contrary. When we really want to achieve more mobility of the students there has to be free education and free transport. Bologna puts us in the direction of education „made in the USA“. Bologna creates a lot of differences between students and it will create an education of first, second and third class (read: quality). Bologna will make the implementation of the GATS-treaty possible. GATS is in the principal there to abolish all regulation for the services industry. This neo-liberal policy has disastorous consequences in the so called third world countries. But in the so called rich countries of the north the social standard will be moved in the wrong direction. The investment agency Merrill Lynch means for instance that in the coming 10 years the complete educational sector will be privatised – worldwide!

The studentsmovement is in a difficult phase where there is much at stake, but where we also can win a lot. The struggle is not united, not on a national and not on an internationl level. There are lots of protests against the European demolision of the educational system, like the big demonstrations in Madrid (200.000 students). The students have to understand (in our point of view) that these education-reforms are decide on an European level and that it will be impossible to fight against every individual law. It is very clear that students have to unite their struggle. An European network would help us all to defend ourselves against governments and transnational corporations.

It was also getting clear that a lot of students are very open for a protestmovement against the war. The understanding that warfare is also being decided on an European level can let the resistance against the European Union only grow.

We decided to stay to common terms in our protest against the education-reforms. We did this while the educational systems are very different and because of that the reformation and problems are from country to country very different. Nevertheless problems on a national level are a warning for those counries that are not that far with the Bologna-reforms. They are examples for the future if we don`t unite our resistance. A student from belgium said that we have to create our own vision of education in order to be less depending on what various governments decide and instead fight for our own vision and ideas. A working group was being installed in order to write a platformtext that has to be discussed in the EU countries. This should be voted about before the next EU summit in Sevilla (Spain) in order to build a united front at the next summit.

And we will go further as only protest. We will go into the offensive and will work on an alternative European educationsystem in the platformtext.


After the meeting we heard that many students have exams during the summit in Sevilla and therefore it`s maybe better to build a studentblock at the EU summit in barcelona in March (15th and 16th) 2002.

Latest news 20.12.2001:
!!!The very latest news however is that Spanish students are mobilising for a countersummit about education and 3 days of protest at March 15, 16 and 17 during the meeting of the EU education ministers in Salamanca. They are planning the protests togheter with ATTAC and anti-capatalistic groups!!!

Contact:
 eustudenten@gmx.net

Mailinglists:

English:
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/international-pupil-and-studentactions

German:
 http://de.groups.yahoo.com/group/int-schueler-und-studentenaktionen

Dutch:
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/int-scholieren-en-studentenakties

Website:
 http://www.studi-protest.de.vu or
 http://int-protest-action.tripod.com