Thousands of students marched
across Italy Friday against Premier Matteo Renzi's planned
school reforms.
The protest, called by university and high-school
students' organisations, was aimed at achieving a "different
school, university and country," than the one envisaged in
business-friendly educational reforms, the manifesto of the
event said.
"We are the great beauty of this country and we can no
longer afford to live in precarious conditions where we're
stripped of our rights," it said.
In Rome, students staged a flash mob at the Colosseum,
unfurling a huge banner saying Hands Off Our Schools.
"There are 20,000 of us and we all say No to Renzi," they
shouted.
"Cuts are not good for a good education," another giant
banner read.
We Are The Good School, another one said.
The students were joined in the Italian capital by throngs
of temp teachers carrying giant papier-mache' pencils to
symbolise the importance of education, "which cannot be
destroyed by politicians".
Maria, a teacher who has been on short-term substitute
contracts for 16 years, told ANSA: "they want to turn students
into useful little robots for their economic schemes...we won't
stand for it".
In Milan, protesting students left a bag of manure outside
the Catholic University and spray-painted buildings with slogans
against the reforms, which aim to forge a stronger vocational
link between schools and universities on the one hand and the
business world on the other.
In Naples, rowdy protesters let off firecrackers and
shouted: "You'll never have us the way you want us".
As well as targeting education more towards working-world
goals, Renzi has vowed to hire 150,000 teachers who have been on
temp contracts for years.
But the teachers taking part in Friday's protest said "we
don't believe him.
"What's he going to do, sack all the existing (permanent)
staff, and where's he going to get the money from," they
demanded to know.
According to the university and high-school organisations,
"more than 80,000 students have turned out across Italy".
As well as Rome, Milan and Naples, other towns that saw
large turn-outs were Turin, Florence, Palermo, Bologna and
Perugia.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
