Thousands of Italian students
held demonstrations in cities across the country Friday as part
of a nationwide mobilization to protest Premier Matteo Renzi's
so-called Good School reform and in defence of public education.
One of the recurring themes in the protests concerned
revisions to the way that family income is calculated, which
students say will reduce access to scholarships and housing.
In Rome, students from three different groups - Knowledge
Network, Student Union, and Link-University Coordination -
gathered overnight in front of the Education Ministry to launch
Friday's demonstrations.
A spokesman for the groups said they were there "to
announce a week of mobilization starting today until October 17,
the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, to launch
a battle attack for fully free education, a dignified income and
training, and a true reversal of policies of precariousness".
In front of Montecitorio, seat of the Lower House in Rome,
a group of students led by Riccardo Laterza of Knowledge Network
were protesting, among other things, "against the unfortunate
situation that has excluded thousands of students from
scholarships because of family income reform".
Up north in Turin, where three separate marches took place,
some student protesters occupied an abandoned gasworks slated to
be torn down to build student housing.
Those students said they were protesting against the
housing's construction being awarded to private companies.
In Milan, over a thousand students and leftwing social
centre militants took to the streets against the school reforms.
There, some protesters occupied the front stairs and facade
of the Unicredit Bank building in Piazza Cordusio, while others
threw smoke bombs and climbed onto the equestrian monument in
Largo Cairoli.
Down south, in Bari, local organisers said two thousand
students came out in marches towards the headquarters of the
Puglia regional government.
Arianna Petrosino of Puglia's Student Union chapter said
7,000 students in Puglia were excluded from scholarships due to
the income calculation reforms.
In Palermo, about a thousand students marched downtown to
reach Palazzo d'Orleans, seat of the Sicilian regional
government.
In Sicily, protests also took place in Trapani,
Catanissetta, Vittoria and Siracusa.
In Naples, local sources reported that firecrackers were
set off in the two marches taking place downtown.
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