Teachers and doctors together were on strike today to attempt to stop the merger of schools, staff and salaries cuts. The rally, which began in front of the university in downtown Athens, gathered teachers from public schools, but their colleagues from private schools supported them with their presence too. To the rally of the teachers joined the doctors who are on strike for similar reasons and in support of the public character of state hospitals and the free medical treatment for patients, but less strikers than expected were at the demonstration.
On-site, students handed leaflets with their demand the costs for the war in Libya to be spent on health care and education. Teachers told that the managerial staff was reduced and now three person perform the same duties as seven people before. The contracts of many teachers will not be renewed because of the merger of the schools and the children in the classed will increase in number. Currently, the maximum allowable number of pupils per class in primary school is 28 and the maximum number of students in secondary school is 32.
Minister Anna Diamandopoulou announced today the features of the project for the new type of secondary school. The number of compulsory subjects will be reduced, but the number of the classes in the each of these subjects will be increased. Research activities will be introduced, which is the innovation, and the changes will apply from September. "The secondary school should become a strong, independent educational unit where young people will have access to knowledge and will develop their scrutiny in parallel," said Minister Diamandopoulou. But the teachers on strike are dissatisfied with the changes in the programme and expressed their protest.
"The today's meeting involved the entire community of teachers from public and private schools. The demonstration takes place because of three main issues of our concern. First, 1050 schools were closed this year and this will continue the next year, and it seems that the Ministry of Education will close over 3500 schools for two years. Second, we protest against the new payment plan through which the government will cut the teachers’ salaries by more than 150 euros. This is another reduction of wages, resulting in total misery. The third is that thousands of our colleagues go to the doctor and buy medicines with their money and when they retire their pension is delayed over a year and a half and now more than 150 teachers retired and died before getting their pensions," said the analyst Christos Katsikas. "As to the proposals of Minister Anna Diamandopoulou for the new type of secondary school I will emphasize that it is not about quality education but about a change in the programme. The students will be offered incomplete knowledge and once again they will have to turn to private tutoring and have exams in many subjects to go to the university," said Katsikas.
"We are on strike, because the measures to be taken by the government are not necessary and there is no reason for school mergers. These mergers will lead to an increase in the number of students in the classes to 35-40 people. A teacher can not cope well with 32 children in the class…" said the teacher Vangelis Yoakimidis.
"The purpose of the government is not to modernize the health care but to close the hospitals, to cut healthcare costs, to force the patients to pay for health care out of their pockets which was free before. In the summer, many hospitals that were built with hard work will have cut budget and staff instead of being modernized," said the doctor Klearchos Sigoyos.
"Our demand is not to dismiss teachers unreasonably. With Law 38/48 teachers are fired for the first time without the approval of official committees, only by the decision of the employer. And now when according to the new law the grade of the completed secondary school will be very important for the exams for the universities, private schools will be turned into alliances, where students will get excellent grades because they pay. Until now, teachers could be dismissed only if they have not performed their duties well, but now this will not apply and the teachers will be dismissed unreasonably. For example, a parent who pays and wants his or her child to get a high grade to enter the university can exert pressure. We want teachers in private schools also to be introduced to the ASEP appointments system so that there is full transparency. There was a case of a private technical school in Arta where they handed out diplomas to the students who did not attend the classes but were excellent students," said George Hristopulos from the organization of teachers in private schools.
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