[Onthebarricades] Student and education protests, October 2008

[global resistance roundup]

Student protests
* PAKISTAN: Students seek early accreditation
* PAKISTAN: Karachi - clashes after police attack peaceful sit-in
* ZIMBABWE: Riot police sttack student demonstration
* KENYA: School students under attack after unrest
* ITALY: Student protests over "reforms", clashes with police
* INDIA: Kerala - medical students end strike
* LEBANON: Students fight station guards over extortion
* TRINIDAD: Dental students protest over conditions
* NIGERIA: Ibadan - students protest fee increase, blockade campus
* PAKISTAN: Karachi - students protest admissions policy
* KENYA: School student canes teacher
* PAKISTAN: Rawalpindi - Students protest end of cheap fares
* IRELAND: Students protest visiting minister, block car
* IRELAND: Fees, cuts prompt mass student protest
* US: Martin University students protest firings
* US: School students stage walkout after shooting

Education protests
* ECUADOR: Protest for school expansion, journalist injured
* TANZANIA: Protesting teachers clash with police
* INDIA: Himachal Pradesh - Police baton-charge teacher protest
* INDIA: AP - Police violence injures teachers during dharna
* INDIA: Tamil Nadu - 10 injured in clash over headmaster
* INDIA: Puducherry - teachers protest
* INDONESIA: Protest by teacher reform group
* FRANCE: Thousands protest against education reforms
* ROMANIA: Teachers protest for wages
* US: Westfield - college faculty protest contract impasse
* CAMEROON: Lecturers to protest poor pay
* POLAND: Protests over extension of compulsory education
* AUSTRALIA: Teachers protest over transfer scheme





http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=142829

AIOU students hold protest Friday, October 24, 2008
Islamabad

Hundreds of students of the Allama Iqbal Open University have called for 
early accreditation of BE (Telecom) programme of the university to save 
their career.

The students of the programme staged protest in the university’s campus 
on Thursday and set tyres on fire as part of strategy they had announced 
early this month in case of the university’s failure to get the 
programme accredited with Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC).

They protesting students were holding banners and placards inscribed 
with different slogans against the university’s administration and were 
asking for early resolution of the issue.

Addressing on the occasion, President of Students Action Committee Umar 
Mughal said that 1309 students were enroled in the BE (Telecom), whose 
future was at stake for being unregistered status of the programme. The 
students expressed dissatisfaction on efforts of the university for 
resolving the issue with the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC), saying 
it had failed to have the programmed accredited.

The Pakistan Engineering Council has asked the university to stock the 
lab with required facilities, provide adequate number of qualified 
faculty for the programme and revise the programme’s syllabus with 
introduction of some new subjects, but the university had so far failed 
to meet the requirements, the angry remarked.

Having assurance from the vice chancellor of the university that the 
programme would be accredited with the PEC, they said, the students had 
taken admission and each one submitted around Rs200,000 fee for the 
programme, but now the VC failed to keep his word, leaving the students 
in the lurch.

They said they would continue with the protest unless the university 
took serious steps to have the programme accredited.

The protesting students also disputed the appointment of the VC, and 
alleged him for being involved in misappropriation.







http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=143948

Six held after students-police clash Thursday, October 30, 2008
By our correspondent

Karachi

A student protest outside the Islamia College took an ugly turn on 
Wednesday after a clash erupted between students and the area police. A 
journalist was injured and six students were arrested in the incident.

The police claimed that students had blocked the entire road for 
traffic, and had turned rowdy, which is why law-enforcers had to take 
action, while students said otherwise.

Eye witnesses told The News that the protest was peaceful until the 
police started moving students from the spot. It was learnt that the 
police resorted to baton-charge to disperse students and arrested six of 
them. After 20 minutes, the students pelted more stones on the police to 
vent their anger. During the brawl, a female journalist from a local 
news channel sustained minor injuries. In order to control the 
situation, the police fired teargas shells.

Later, students and the police issued contradictory statements about the 
incident.

“We were completely peaceful, and we were not doing anything different 
than what we have been doing since our protests began,” said IJT 
Information Cell (Karachi) chief Riaz Ahmed Siddiqui. “After the 
baton-charge and shelling, of course it is expected the students would 
retaliate”, confessed Riaz.

Jamshed Quarter Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Fawad Khan told 
The News that the impression that the clash was started by the police 
was incorrect. He said that the police had to make students obey the 
rules. Students were violating orders and were blocking roads even after 
they were warned.

“Their protest was peaceful till yesterday, but if they are now thinking 
that they could get away with blocking roads and disturbing traffic 
flow, then they are mistaken. Secondly, students were the ones who 
started pelting stones on the police first.”

According to Khan, around six students were arrested, and FIRs being 
lodged against them. These students were identified as Taha Riaz, IJT 
head of Islamia College, Nauman Hameed, Makhdoom Hussain, Abdul Wahab, 
Niaz Ahmed, and Sonu Khan. Khan said they were arrested under sections 
147 and 148.

“The future of the students or the college is not the police’s concern. 
Our concern is with keeping the situation in check, and this was very 
much out of line”, Khan said.

DSP Nawaz Ranjha also gave a statement along similar lines. He told The 
News that the police were being dragged into this controversy for no 
reason. “We tried to clear the road for the public. If we hadn’t done 
that, the public would have blamed us; now when we have done it, we are 
being blamed for starting the clash. The media was present, and it is 
clear from the footage who started what.”

Ranjha said that the police were not against the students. “The students 
had been given half a road to protest on, but they took over the entire 
road. When they were asked to clear the way for traffic, especially for 
ambulances and fire brigades, they did not listen, and instead started 
pelting stones. We feel that the students were misled. We do not know 
who asked them to react like this, but we are trying to further 
investigate the matter”, he said.







http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/africa/news/article_1436955.php/Riot_police_use_violence_to_break_up_student_demonstration__Extra__

Riot police use violence to break up student demonstration (Extra)
Africa News
Oct 14, 2008, 16:32 GMT
Harare - Riot police broke up a student demonstration in Harare, 
injuring at least four people and arresting three Tuesday, in the first 
such incident of police violence since the signing of a power-sharing 
agreement by Zimbabwe's political protagonists a month ago.
The attack on the peaceful demonstration took place just as former South 
African president Thabo Mbeki began mediating to try and rescue the 
agreement from collapse after President Robert Mugabe at the
weekend unilaterally allocated to his ZANU(PF) party the most important 
posts in the proposed power-sharing government.
Privilege Mutanga, a member of the national executive of the Zimbabwe 
National Students Union, said about 200 students had marched to 
Zimbabwe's parliament to present a petition protesting over the failure 
since August of nearly all the country's universities to open for the 
new academic year.
About 30 riot police, with batons, dogs and firearms, stopped them and 
told them to send two representatives with the petition to the 
parliament doors.
'As soon as we did, they arrested them,' she said. 'Then they charged 
us, and we scattered. I tried to hide inside a shop doorway, but they 
saw that I was wearing a ZINASU T-shirt, so they pulled me out and beat 
me with baton sticks and kicked me.'
She was treated for bruising and swelling about her body and face. She 
said another student had suffered a fractured skull. Clever Bere, the 
president of ZINASU, was in police custody.
Police appeared to have suspended their outright ban on all public 
demonstrations following the signing of the agreement on September 15, 
and allowed several peaceful demonstrations to proceed without 
interruption.
Until then, any demonstrations, except by President Robert Mugabe's 
ZANU(PF) party, have been met with force, with sometimes hundreds being 
savagely beaten - including, last year, Morgan Tsvangirai, who is prime 
minister-designate under the power-sharing deal - and people being 
detained in filthy police cells for weeks on end.
Observers say the attack on the demonstration is an indication that 
Mugabe's regime is resuming its hard-line strategy against the 
octogenarian dictator's regime as hopes for change falter.






http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Africa&set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20081027121007232C879966

Riot police break up students protest

October 27 2008 at 02:43PM


Harare - Zimbabwean riot police broke up a demonstration by a group of 
around 100 students on Monday outside the hotel in the capital Harare 
where talks were under way to salvage a crucial power-sharing deal.

Police baton-charged the students, who were calling for the talks on the 
formation of a unity government to be expedited so that schooling, which 
has come to a halt amidst a severe economic crisis, can resume.

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, his predecessor Thabo Mbeki, 
who is mediating in Zimbabwe, and Swaziland's King Mswati III went into 
talks Monday with President Robert Mugabe and prime minister-designate 
Morgan Tsvangirai on how to avert the collapse of their September 
agreement to form a unity government.

Six weeks after agreeing to share power, Mugabe and Tsvangirai are at 
loggerheads about which ministries should go to which party.

Arthur Mutambara, leader of a minority faction of Tsvangirai's Movement 
for Democratic Change (MDC), is also involved in the talks.

The MDC accuses Mugabe of keeping all the most important ministries for 
his Zanu-PF. The dispute is riveted on control of the home affairs 
ministry, which the MDC is demanding, but Zanu-PF is reluctant to 
relinquish.

The power-sharing deal is seen by many as the only way of rescuing 
Zimbabwe from economic meltdown. The once-prosperous nation is 
experiencing acute shortages of all essentials, including fuel, 
electricity, cash, food and drugs.

Inflation officially stands at more than 200-million percent, though 
independent analysts put it at more than one billion per cent. - Sapa-dpa






http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/23/2311544.htm

Kenya bans mobile phones to stem school riots
Posted Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:43am AEST
The Kenyan Government has banned the use of mobile phones in schools in 
a bid to stem a string of deadly riots that have rocked the country.
"I am banning the use of mobile phones by our students in our schools," 
Education Minister Sam Ongeri told parliament.
The ban, which takes effect immediately, comes a day after police 
charged dozens of students with arson after weekend riots that left at 
least one student dead and several injured.
Officers charged several students on Monday over the burning down of 
hostels and other violence that had shut down 20 secondary schools 
across the country, said police spokesman Eric Kiraithe.
"We will continue arresting the students for the crimes they commit," 
said Mr Kiraithe.
More than 300 secondary schools have gone on strike in Kenya over the 
past month, while students have destroyed properties worth millions of 
shillings as they protest poor living conditions and bad management.
Mr Ongeri said mobile phones had been used to coordinate the riots, 
which he blamed on widespread political incitement and drug abuse.
"We cannot afford careless actions; we cannot afford a carefree 
attitude. If we don't have discipline in our schools, life will be 
chaotic," he told reporters.
-AFP







http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/2245348

Italian students clash at protest
Published: 9:18AM Thursday October 30, 2008
Source: Reuters
• Read
Clashes broke out in Rome's historic Piazza Navona when students 
throughout Italy occupied squares and blocked traffic to protest against 
a new law expected to cut spending on education and research.
The Rome demonstration was peaceful until a group of right-wingers 
wielding clubs and chains arrived and clashed with other students, 
witnesses said.
Tables and chairs from an outdoor cafe were hurled into the air, sending 
tourists running for cover as police in riot gear moved in to break up 
the melee.
About 15 students were detained, police said. Three students and one 
policeman were injured, they added.
The protests took place as the Italian Senate approved the law drawn up 
by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right government but which 
the centre-left opposition has vowed to repeal with a national referendum.
"We are protesting because we have no future," said Francesco Marri, a 
university student protesting outside the Senate, which is next to 
Piazza Navona.
Demonstrations against the reforms have been swelling over the past two 
weeks across Italy.
The students say the changes will hinder their ability to get a good 
education.
The government says the law, which deals mostly with primary and 
secondary schools, will trim waste and put Italian schools on an equal 
footing with other European school systems.
The secondary pupils have been supported by university students and 
professors opposed to cuts in education and research in the 2009 
national budget.
To underscore their discontent, some secondary school teachers and 
university professors held classes in the squares.
"Most of my students realise that they will have to go abroad, either to 
the United States or elsewhere in Europe, if they want to advance their 
careers," said Carlo Maria Bertoni, a physics professor.
Bertoni, the department head of a university in northern Modena, held a 
lecture in geology in Piazza Navona in the shadow of Bernini's 17th 
century Fountain of the Four Rivers.
"This whole situation stinks," said Nella Converti, a high school 
student from the Analdi school in Rome's outskirts. "As soon as I 
graduate, I want to go to Spain to study - anywhere but here in Italy, 
which is mired in petty politics".
Medical students from the Sant' Andrea teaching hospital of Rome's 
University bicycled through Rome wearing their white coats and 
stethoscopes around their necks to protest against the cuts in spending 
on research.
Similar demonstrations were held up and down Italy, from Milan in the 
north, where students blocked traffic and occupied a train station, to 
Naples in the south, where they occupied the main square. Minor clashes 
were reported in Milan.






http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2008/10/2008102716921850562.html

Monday, October 27, 2008
20:53 Mecca time, 17:53 GMT

Italians protest over education cut



Protesters hold a placard that reads: 'Public school is a right, to 
defend it is a must' [AFP]

Thousands of high school and university students have been protesting in 
the Italian capital against the government's plan to cut jobs and 
funding for the education system.
Police blocked the road leading to the residence of Silvio Berlusconi, 
the prime minister, as the demonstrators marched in Rome on Monday.
The proposed changes include budget and job cuts at state universities.
In changes to lower education, students could fail for poor conduct, and 
primary schools would return to the practice of having only one teacher 
per primary school class.
Many students have been missing classes for weeks to protest against the 
plan, and in some cases they have occupied schools.
Some teachers have also joined the protest, staging open-air lessons in 
streets and squares across the country.
Berlusconi has said he will not budge on despite the protests.
A nationwide strike by school teachers and university professors is 
planned for October 30.
Public opposition
Nearly half of Italians are opposed to the cuts, the Italian newspaper 
La Repubblica, suggested in a recent poll.
The survey found that 47 per cent of the 1,024 people questioned were 
against the proposals. About 38 per cent of Italians backed them.
The proposals for primary schools would mean that, from autumn of next 
year, instead of three staff sharing teaching duties in different 
subjects for two classes, each class would have one all-purpose instructor.
Time spent at school would be slashed from 29 to 31 hours a week 
currently, to 24. The aim is to save $9.7bn over four years.
Savings of $1.8bn are being sought in the secondary school sector and 
higher education over five years.
The education ministry said the plans seek to "rationalise spending to 
improve the quality" of education and that only a few thousands of the 
country's millions of students are demonstrating.





http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Europe&set_id=1&click_id=24&art_id=nw20081027173329604C813697

Education reforms spark protests in Italy

October 27 2008 at 05:55PM


Rome - Protests against plans by the Italian government for education 
reforms, including deep budget cuts, continued on Monday and are due to 
culminate in a general strike called by unions for later in the week.

Opposition to the plans of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's 
government, which include a return to the practice of having only one 
teacher per primary school class, included demonstrations and sit-ins.

In Rome, thousands of high school students marched while open-air 
classes were held in several parts of the capital.

Throughout the country for the last two weeks informal classes have been 
taking place each day in major cities, with students hoping to mobilise 
public support and fend off claims that they are just avoiding their 
studies.
Nearly half of Italians are opposed to the reforms, a poll published on 
Monday suggested.

The survey for the newspaper La Repubblica found that 47,2 percent of 
the 1 024 people questioned were against the reforms, which also call 
for deep budget cuts over several years. The plans had the backing of 
38,5 percent of the sample.

The proposals for primary schools would mean that from the autumn of 
next year instead of three staff sharing teaching duties in different 
subjects for two classes, each class would have one all-purpose instructor.

Time spent at school would be slashed from 29 to 31 hours a week 
currently, to 24. The aim is to save €7,8-billion over four years.

Savings of €1,5-billion are being sought in the secondary school sector 
and higher education over five years.

Talks between student representatives and Education Minister Mariastella 
Gelmini failed to make progress Friday.

She said in a newspaper interview published Monday that the general 
strike called by union confederations for Thursday would go ahead, 
calling it the usual ritual of those seeking to defend the indefensible.

"But afterwards I believe we can resume talks on the reform. Obviously 
with those who put forward suggestions," she told the Corriere della 
Sera newspaper.

The ministry says the plans seek to "rationalise spending to improve the 
quality" of education and says that only a few thousands of the 
country's millions of students are demonstrating.








http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/10/411604.html

Rome Film Festival: Police attack protest students
antifa | 26.10.2008 00:36 | Education | Repression | World
Italian policemen in riot gears stand guard near students gathering 
outside Rome's Auditorium Friday, Oct. 24, 2008, during the Rome 
International Film Festival.

The attack started in the evening when some student opened banners 
inside the Auditorium. Students all over Italy staged demonstrations and 
held university lectures outside as part of a week-long protest against 
Silvio Berlusconi's conservative government proposed "private 
revolution" reform on the education system.

http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=zOjyVoK9OJ4
antifa
Homepage: http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=zOjyVoK9OJ4

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fca92e2c-a6ab-11dd-95be-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

Protests close schools in Italy
By Giulia Segreti and Guy Dinmore in Rome
Published: October 30 2008 20:05 | Last updated: October 30 2008 20:05
Most of Italy’s schools closed on Thursday for students and teachers to 
join mass demonstrations organised by trade unions against the 
centre-right government’s education cuts.
Rome ground to a halt in the morning as huge crowds – organisers claimed 
1m – marched through the centre to Piazza del Popolo in the largest 
outpouring of public discontent with the government since Silvio 
Berlusconi, the prime minister, returned to power in May.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
Gypsy vaccination scheme starts - Mar-06
Man in the News: Pope Benedict XVI - Feb-06
Vatican provokes crisis over right to die - Feb-06
Rome silent as UK strikes target Italians - Feb-01
Italy’s car workers protest at aid plan - Jan-29
Tensions rise over Italy’s gypsy migrants - Jan-26
Unions said 90 per cent of schools closed down. The education ministry 
said 57 per cent were shut. Mr Berlusconi responded: “I see a scandalous 
left wing which has the ability to reverse the truth and speak the 
contrary.”
The rallies, also held in other major cities after weeks of protests and 
campus sit-ins, have focused anger on the budget cuts and Mariastella 
Gelmini, education minister. But with impetus from union leaders the 
movement threatens to take on broader political significance as the 
government struggles to push through other public sector cuts against 
the background of a deteriorating economy.
“I have never seen Piazza del Popolo like today. There is a whole 
country that is in revolt,” said Guglielmo Epifani, leader of the CGIL 
union federation. “The strength of this square is the strength of 
democracy, and democracy will be a shield for our youngsters.”
Leaders of the centre-left and communist parties who split in the April 
election also joined forces at the rallies. The main opposition 
Democratic party is seeking a national referendum to reverse the 
legislation.
The Senate approved the €7.8bn ($9.9bn, £6.2bn) education cuts on 
Wednesday by 162 votes to 134.
Teachers on full-time contracts do not face dismissal, but 87,000 
positions will not be filled over three years.
The main target of Ms Gelmini’s cuts are the primary schools, which have 
performed relatively well in international surveys, unlike the secondary 
schools. Many smaller schools are to be closed with the loss of 45,000 
administrative posts and staff on short-term contracts.
Much controversy has focused on the reintroduction of a system of ”one 
class, one teacher” in elementary schools where one teacher is to cover 
all subjects. The most devastating impact will fall on working mothers 
who will only be able to keep their children in primary school for 24 
hours a week, instead of full working hours.
Future legislation will affect universities.
Antonio, a Rome high school professor, said the changes were not 
reforms, as claimed by the government, but simply cuts. “There is a lot 
of talk about meritocracy for teachers, but politicians don’t realise 
that the current voting system in Italy accounts for neither meritocracy 
nor representation,” he said.
Students were outraged by the way in which the government rammed the 
legislation through parliament with little debate there or in society.
Mirko, a psychology student from Caserta university, warned: “The 
protests against this government start from the school as schools are 
still a place in society where ideas are formed and where dialogue is 
still possible.”






http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/oct2008/ital-o31.shtml

Italy: Protests and strikes against Berlusconi education cuts
By Peter Schwarz
31 October 2008
Hundreds of thousands of teachers, students and parents marched through 
Italian cities Thursday in protest over reforms initiated by Prime 
Minister Silvio Berlusconi. His government’s multibillion-euro education 
cuts were voted into law on Wednesday.
Organisers claim that up to 1 million people marched in the capital, and 
that nine out of ten schools across the country were closed. Prominent 
at the rallies on Thursday were large numbers of school and university 
students who have been conducting a prolonged campaign against the 
government’s educational reform. Thursday’s strike had been preceded by 
weeks of protests by pupils, students, parents, teachers and professors.
Schools and university faculties across the country have conducted a 
series of demonstrations, public meetings and occupations of educational 
establishments. Even the sleepy rural areas in the south of the country 
were hit by the protest movement.
According to the Interior Ministry, since the start of October no less 
than 300 demonstrations had taken place and an estimated 150 schools and 
20 university departments occupied by students. If anything, the 
official figures are an underestimate. According to the protest 
movement’s own figures, a total of 60 high schools have been occupied in 
Naples and 120 in the region of Campania.
Demonstrations took place across the country last Friday, with hundreds 
of thousands taking part. One day later, on Saturday, several hundred 
thousand protested in Rome against the government.
The target of protesters is the reversal of the so-called Gelmini 
reform, named after the 35-year-old education minister, Mariastella 
Gelmini, from Berlusconi’s party Forza Italia. The reform plans to cut a 
total of 87,000 teaching jobs and 44,500 administrative posts at state 
schools within the next three years. The scheme is aimed at saving €8 
billion. The plan also envisages cuts to university staff, with just one 
in five vacancies amongst lecturers to be filled during coming years.
The Italian educational system has been considered to be one of the 
worst in Europe for some time. The schools are poorly equipped, teaching 
methods are outdated, teachers are underpaid and there is a widespread 
lack of modern teaching materials such as computers. The universities 
are chronically overcrowded.
The government now has the audacity to claim that its austerity program 
is the answer to this misery. According to Education Minister Gelmini, 
the reform will make education more effective and efficient by cutting 
back on bureaucracy and concentrating on performance.
In terms of its recommendations for the content of school education, the 
reform appears to have drawn from educational concepts prevailing in the 
19th century. Instead of modern methods, teaching, and textbook 
material, the plan emphasizes discipline and order. In primary schools 
the reform advocates the replacement of specialized subject teaching 
staff with “general” teachers—a so-called “maestro”—whom all pupils are 
to greet by rising from their seats when he or she enters the classroom. 
A form of school uniform is to be made compulsory, school reports are to 
replace the existing form of more differentiated evaluation, and 
additional reports will decide on the transfer of pupils.
Gelmini’s discipline initiatives are planned for the mass of the student 
population in public schools. The implementation of the reform will 
inevitably lead to a precipitous increase in private schools, where the 
wealthy will send their children to be educated.
The reform also discriminates against immigrants. In this respect, 
Gelmini responded to a demand by a coalition partner in the government, 
the racist Northern League (Lega Nord). Anyone failing a language test 
on their first day at school will be required to attend a special class 
in future. The Lega Nord cynically refers to this measure as “positive 
discrimination” and a contribution towards “better integration.”
The broad popular opposition to Gelmini’s plans surprised not only the 
government, but the opposition parties as well. The spontaneous protest 
actions across the country took place largely independently of the 
traditional organizations.
Pupils occupied school buildings together with their teachers. Parents 
demonstrated alongside their children. Professors held lectures in 
public places. In Venice, teachers blocked motor traffic to the 
mainland, while in Bari a symbolic funeral cortege paralyzed traffic. 
University departments were occupied at the universities in Bologna, 
Milan, Turin, Genoa, Naples and Rome. In the proximity of Milan, pupils 
occupied a railway station and blocked the tracks for some time.
In response, the government has stubbornly ignored this opposition. It 
prevented a parliamentary debate over the reform by declaring the bill 
to be a decree that required a vote of confidence, enabling it to push 
through the bill without a debate.
Gelmini and her mentor Berlusconi have reacted to recent protests with 
arrogance and contempt. Gelmini described the opposition as “terrorist.” 
Other members of the government even spoke of an “infiltration of the 
movement by the Red Brigades”—a terror organization that emerged in 
Italy in the 1970s.
Berlusconi insisted that he would not give way “a millimetre,” that he 
was prepared to use force against the opposition and that he would not 
tolerate the occupation of schools and universities. He threatened, “I 
will invoke the interior minister, and I will give him exact 
instructions on how he should intervene with the security forces to 
prevent such things happening.”
His comments merely poured oil on the flames. The protests continued to 
spread and became more radical. Berlusconi then retreated somewhat and 
stated he had been misunderstood, but he made no concessions with regard 
to the reform. On Wednesday, the Italian Senate voted through the reform 
by a vote of 162 to 134, which means it can now enter into force.
The Gelmini reform draws on the cuts implemented by the predecessor 
government led by Romano Prodi. In its two-year term of office, Prodi’s 
centre-left government cut 47,000 jobs in the education sphere. But as 
protests grow it is the Democratic Party led by Walter Veltroni that is 
now trying to place itself at the head of the movement. The Democrats 
emerged from the Communist Party and were the most important component 
in Prodi’s coalition.
Veltroni was the only speaker at the demonstration held in Rome last 
Saturday. Following his defeat at the hands of Berlusconi in national 
elections held in the spring of this year, Veltroni initially made an 
offer to work together with Berlusconi’s coalition. Now the Democrats 
are attempting to take the leadership of the movement against the 
education reform in order to keep it under control.
The Democrats will face an uphill fight. The protests against the 
education reform are part of a broad social movement that will only 
intensify as the effects of the financial crisis make themselves felt. 
The past few weeks have also witnessed strikes and protests in public 
transport, the health service and other sections of public service. 
Firefighters, air personnel and those employed in jobs in call centres 
and commercial ventures such as IKEA have also taken part in strikes.






http://story.indiagazette.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/701ee96610c884a6/id/415380/cs/1/

Kerala medicos end protest after government assurances
India Gazette
Monday 6th October, 2008
(IANS)
After their day-long token protest and the state health department 
assurances that their demands would be looked into, protesting doctors 
and medical students called off their indefinite strike here Monday.

Doctors, graduate and post-graduate medical students were demanding a 
hike in their stipend and repeal of the compulsory bond that requires 
them to work in government service in rural areas for three years.

After a marathon two-hour long discussion with the protesters, it was 
decided that the government will issue a new order at the earliest in 
view of the medicos' demands.

'The minister (P.K. Sreemathi) has agreed to reduce the compulsory rural 
service from three years to one year and also changed the stipulations 
in the bond agreement. Since the government has consented to our 
demands, we will not go ahead with an indefinite protest,' said one of 
the prosesters.

In Kerala, medical students constitute the majority of the real 
workforce in medical colleges, with vacancies of doctors remaining unfilled.





http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=58642

Published On: 2008-10-14
Metropolitan
10 hurt as students, security guards clash in Comilla
Unb, Comilla

At least 10 people were injured, three by bullets, in a clash between 
the students of Victoria College and security guards of Comilla Rail 
Station yesterday morning.

Witnesses said physically challenged Saidul Islam, a second year student 
of the college, collected ticket and boarded the Chittagong-bound train 
'Jalalabad Express' from Akhaura.

But security guard in-charge Firoz and ansar members Khalil and Abdus 
Haque demanded money from Saidul. They also beat him up as he refused to 
give them money.

After receiving the news from Saidul over mobile phone, the students of 
Victoria College ransacked Comilla Rail Station and the engine of the 
train at about 7:45am.

The agitating students also clashed with the security guards, leaving 
seven people from both sides injured. At one stage, Ansar members fired 
five gunshots, injuring three college students.

Deputy Commissioner Ataul Gani, Police Superintendent Imtiaz Ahmed, and 
members of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and police rushed to the 
spot and brought the situation under control.

The train left Comilla for Chittagong at about 10:15pm.






http://www.nationnews.com/story/292925359291323.php

Dental students take protest to Ministry
Published on: 10/23/08.
DENTAL students of the University of the West Indies took their 
displeasure over the state of affairs at the school to the head office 
of the Ministry of Science and Tertiary Education yesterday.
Despite heavy showers, members of the University of the West Indies 
Dental Students Association stood outside the ministry's building 
holding placards before holding a meeting with the permanent secretary 
of the Ministry.
On Monday, students of the school staged a protest at the school citing 
unhealthy conditions facilities and dated equipment.Devin Jaggernauth, 
president of the association, stated that the school's problems stemmed 
from the negligence by the North Central Regional Health Authority 
(NCRHA) and called for the school to placed totally under the control of 
the university.
The facility is owned by the NCRHA although the school falls under the 
auspices of the medical science faculty of the University of the West 
Indies.
Jaggernauth told the Express it was agreed that the NCRHA would provide 
the equipment and receive the fees generated from patients at the school 
since its inception in 1989. Recently the university has been supplying 
the apparatus for the school, he said. "So far we have had little 
problem with how UWI has run the school, it is the NCRHA who has not 
kept their end," said Jaggernauth.
"The permanent secretary told us that she was aware of some of the 
problems at the school and a committee would be set up to look into how 
the operations of the school should be split between UWI and the NCRHA," 
said Jaggernauth.
(Trinidad Express)







http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161391003

'Hot' dental students protest
UWI principal promises air conditioning in a week
Aabida Allaham

Wednesday, October 22nd 2008

AFTER spending six months in the heat, dental students at the University 
of the West Indies are calling on the relevant authorities to provide 
them with a facility that is conducive to learning.
"Many of the problems we are facing today are not new, but being without 
proper air conditioning for so long has forced us to take a different 
approach," Devin Jaggernauth, president of the UWI Dental Students' 
Association, said yesterday.
In a noisy protest outside the school compound at Mt Hope yesterday, 
local and international students made sure their voices were heard. They 
said since the onset of the problems, they have been shoved between a 
rock and a hard place every time they tried to get a meeting with 
members of the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) and UWI.
"The air condition unit has been giving trouble for the past seven 
years, but it stopped working six months ago and we have lost clinical 
time because instructors, who are unionised, implemented morning 
sessions only," Jaggernauth said.
The students also complained of a host of other problems.
However, UWI principal, Prof Clement Sankat, said a silver lining to the 
problems experienced by the students was imminent.
"I intend to focus on the air conditioning, but we are tenants in that 
building (Dental School at Mount Hope) and we cannot do as we please," 
he said.
Sankat said tenders were sent out for a new air conditioning system and 
it should be up and running in a week's time, once NCRHA agreed on who 
would conduct electrical work.
As for the other issues affecting the students, Sankat said they were 
dealing with them, but red tape would take a while to cut through.
"Processes at the university can undo all the good we try to implement 
at UWI. For every thing we do, we must follow a process and that takes 
time," he said.






http://allafrica.com/stories/200810140195.html

Nigeria: UI Students Protest Increase in Tuition Fees
Yemi Bamidele
14 October 2008
Ibadan — Academic and administrative activities were paralysed at the 
Uni-versity of Ibadan yesterday as students of the institution embar-ked 
on a peaceful protest against the 50 percent increase in tuition and 
other fees announced by the University authorities.
All entrances to the Univer-sity campus were barricaded by the aggrieved 
students who also forced workers out of their va-rious duty posts to 
show their anger of the fees hike.
Many people who were eager to enter or go out of the campus were sighted 
scaling the over three metre-tall fence as the main gate and other gates 
to the school were firmly under lock and key.
Eye witness accounts said the over 6,000 protesting students had earlier 
in the day assembled at the front of the Students Union Building (SUB) 
as early as 8.00 am chanting "war songs", just as they barricaded all 
the gates leading into the school to condemn the increment in tuition 
fees and the alleged failure by the authorities to yield to the students 
demands to rescind the hike in the fees.
At about 8.25 am, the angry students, most of who carried placards with 
various inscriptions in condemnation of the fees increment, had stormed 
the University's Administration main block to register their rejection 
of the new fees. They also called on the school authorities to hasten 
action in democratizing the institution's Students Union Government.
By 10 am, the protesting students had virtually taken over the 
Administrative Block as they forced workers and the principal staff to 
abandon their offices for fear of possible attack by the protesters.
Many of the protesting students who spoke with newsmen under condition 
of anonymity accused the university authorities of approving and 
implementing the controversial new fees without considering the views of 
the students representatives who had contested the increment at the 
initial stage.
Another student leader said with the over 50 per cent increase in the 
tuition and other fees, undergraduate students of the University are now 
to pay N15,000 for a space of accommodation as against the initial 
N10,000 paid last session. Postgraduate students, under the new formula, 
are now to pay N35,000 for a single room at the "Obafemi Awolowo single 
man room" of the university as against N30,000 which they were paying 
before the school vacated.
The two-man room occupant in the same hall will now pay N25,000 as 
against the N20,000 paid before vacation.
They said with the present arrangement, returning and fresh students are 
to pay N3,000, with medical fee increasing from N500 to N1,000, Identity 
Card from N365 to N650, examination fee from N1,000 to N1,500, 
development levy from N2,000 to N3,000 and N1,000 as health insurance 
fee, among others.
When contacted, the University's Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Joke 
Akinpelu, simply told newsmen that "the management of the University of 
Ibadan are still in a crucial meeting on the development and we hope the 
meeting will bring positive result at the end of the day."
However, policemen were sighted mounting surveillance at the main gate 
of the University apparently with a view to thwarting the possible 
hijack of the protest by street urchins or political hoodlums.






http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=142472

KU Students Alliance protests against admissions policy Wednesday, 
October 22, 2008
By our correspondent

Karachi

Students Alliance of the University of Karachi (KU) lodged their protest 
and took out a rally against the KU admission policy-2009 on Tuesday 
whilst a conference of the KU Academic Council was going on at the 
Chemistry Department.

According to a press statement issued on Tuesday, the Students Alliance 
presented a charter of demand to the faculty members present at the 
Academic Council’s meeting.

They alliance has demanded of the Academic Council to adopt an open 
merit admission policy and drop the “category system” with immediate 
effect. The students also opposed the idea of conducting admission tests 
in all the departments and insisted that admissions should be given 
purely on academic record.

The student organisations that took part in the protest rally included 
Islami Jamiat-e-Talba, Imamia Students Organisation, People’s Students 
Federation and Punjabi Student Association.







http://allafrica.com/stories/200810270193.html

Kenya: Caning of Teacher By Pupils Sparks Clash
Daniel Nyassy
24 October 2008
Nairobi — The Kenya National Union of Teachers Malindi branch clashed 
with the education office after pupils assaulted a teacher.
Knut officials, led by executive secretary Frederick Nguma, and the 
district education officer George Ogandoh clashed during a meeting at 
Ganda Primary School on Thursday following a strike by teachers over the 
incident.
The meeting brought together the board of governors, parents/teachers 
association, Knut and the education office.
Sources said the union demanded that security for its members be 
guaranteed before teaching could resume.
Pleading
The union also said the culprits and their parents should have been 
arrested.
As the meeting was going on, the three Standard Eight pupils and their 
parents were being quizzed at Malindi Police Station.
The parents were heard pleading with the police not to arrest the pupils 
as they were set to sit the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education 
examinations soon.
A senior police officer told the media later that the pupils had been 
cautioned against indiscipline. They were warned that they would be 
arrested if they engaged in assault in future.
"We take the matter as minor. It is an incident involving mere pupils 
and the assault on the teacher was not very serious. So we let them free 
to go home but keep the peace at school," said the officer.
However, a parent, Mr Mitsanze Kadenge, protested that the police were 
encouraging indiscipline by treating the matter casually.
"This is a grave matter. The pupils and their parents should have been 
locked up because we believe it originates from the parents. Our 
teachers must be protected and not subjected to such ridicule by 
pupils," protested Mr Kadenge.
The pupils attacked their teacher, Mr Michael Mataza, with a cane when 
he demanded to know why they had not brought their parents after they 
refused to be punished.
(Daily Nation)








http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=142507

Students protest against charging of full fares Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Khalid Iqbal

Rawalpindi

Students here on Tuesday protested against charging of full fares by 
private public transporters from them and urged the government to run 
its buses to facilitate them or direct public transporters to give 70 
per cent concession on fares.

They raised slogans against private transporters who don’t give any kind 
of concession in fares to students.

The protesting students of the Government Gordon College told ‘The News’ 
that they were facing problems due to high fares of private transport in 
the city.

They alleged that the transporters don’t allow them to board their 
vehicle. They said that

they could not afford full fares and the situation is creating problems 
for them in continuing their studies.

“The government is snatching the right of education from us by not 
taking any step to provide concession in transport fares to students,” 
Muhammad Kamran, a student of Gordon College, said.

Most students belong to poor families and they cannot pay high transport 
fares. The government should run buses for students, he said.

A private mini-bus owner, Malik Muhammad Sultan, said that students do 
not pay a single rupee to conductors, which result in scuffles between 
them. They should at least pay half fare, he said.







http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1020/ucd.html

Two arrested at protest in UCD
Monday, 20 October 2008 21:56
Two students have been arrested at UCD at a protest as Minister for 
Finance Brian Lenihan was due to chair a lecture at the college.
The number of students involved in the protest reached about 150.
More than 20 gardaí were on duty as well as a number of private security 
officers.
Advertisement
Students blocked the vehicle access to the building where Mr Lenihan is 
due to attend the function.
The students were protesting about the proposed reintroduction of third 
level fees.
Mr Lenihan entered the building on foot via a side entrance, at the same 
time as his State car drove up to the main entrance of the building 
where the students were protesting.
He has been able to chair the lecture at the UCD College of Human 
Sciences as planned.
The students involved in the protest have left.







http://www.independent.ie/national-news/budget-2009/news/15000-elderly-and-10000-young-join-in-day-of-protest-1506097.html?r=RSS

It was an extraordinary coincidence, and a sign of how the Budget has 
alienated so many, that shortly after the pensioners' protest reached 
its climax up to 10,000 third-level students should arrive at the Dail, 
deeply angered over fees.
Like the pensioners, the students came from everywhere, and they brought 
just one message: 'No to fees'.






http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=67218&provider=rss

Campus workers, students protest more UT budget cuts
Brittany Bailey Updated: 10/22/2008 7:40:56 PM Posted: 10/22/2008 
5:42:35 PM
"No more cuts, no more cuts."
That was the battle cry, of sorts, on the University of Tennessee campus 
Wednesday afternoon.
More than 100 people gathered, most of them rallying on behalf of the 
United Campus Workers union.
"We're doing this to demonstrate to the state, to the legislature, to 
the governor, the damaging effects of the cuts to UT's budget," said Jon 
Shefner, a union member and sociology professor.
This fiscal year, leaders cut $17 million from the UT-Knoxville budget, 
and more cuts are yet to come.
But, the protesters want state leaders to put a stop to it.
They say, instead of cutting more money out of higher education , state 
leaders should find the money elsewhere. They suggest eliminating 
corporate tax exemptions and dipping into the rainy day fund.
"More cuts are to come, and so if we can stand united and make it clear 
the damage that these cuts will entail for students, for staff and for 
faculty, then I think we can get the legislature, get the government to 
rethink how much more they want to bleed the University of Tennessee," 
Shefner said.
Several students who spoke at the rally worried more cuts could harm 
their education and make it more difficult to earn their degrees.
"The University of Tennessee is in a financial crisis , and it's not 
fair that we have to foot the bill," UT sophomore Stephanie Zuckerman 
said. "I'm worried about classes that I need to take to graduate being 
cut. I'm worried about that happening for other students, too, and 
resources that we need to get the higher education that we're here for 
being cut, too."
Protesters planned their rally to coincide with the UT Board of 
Trustees' meeting on campus this week.
The board and campus leaders are expected to discuss making more cuts to 
next fiscal year's budget.
The first cuts, $11.1 million worth, came back in June, affecting 
faculty positions, maintenance, technology and research.
It also impacted the Audiology and Speech Pathology Department, which, 
if the plan is approved, will be run by the Memphis campus next year.
In October, leaders cut $6 million more. They slashed upper-level 
courses and made plans to reduce the number of faculty positions.
Now, officials are planning to make that last $6 million cut permanent, 
and they are looking to cut up to $5 million more in the next fiscal year.
The cuts will likely, once again, affect courses and teaching positions.






http://www.indy.com/posts/martin-university-students-protest-firings

Martin University students protest firings

October 22, 2008 by indystar

A small group of Martin University students gathered across the street 
from the school Tuesday to protest the direction the institution has 
taken under a new president.
The gathering was unusual for a university demonstration: not youths in 
their 20s but adults in their 40s.
The nontraditional college students were attracted to the university by 
the opportunity to earn a degree but said they have become disenchanted 
by the dismissal of faculty, including a popular professor fired the day 
before the protest.
The university's new president, Algeania Freeman, was singled out by the 
demonstrators as the force behind this dismissal and, according to a 
release from students, other firings on campus.
"Martin was warm, but our school is cold now," said Juanita Hayes, 47, a 
psychology student. "We're angry, and we're upset; no one wants to talk 
to us."
Representatives of Freeman and the university could not be reached for 
comment late Tuesday.
Freeman was selected in December to succeed the Rev. Boniface Hardin, 
the Catholic priest who founded the school 30 years ago. Hardin retired 
last year.
The school, at 2171 N. Avondale Place, serves a population that is older 
than the typical student body and is 95 percent black.
Some people close to the university estimate that as many as half of the 
university's staff and faculty have been replaced since Freeman took 
over, including some who were hired since the administration changed.
"There were so many people who were laid off," said Richard Phillips, 
32, a criminal justice student. "She just cleaned house; people were 
getting fired daily."
Freeman's last job, as president of Livingstone College in Salisbury, 
N.C., ended abruptly when that college's board of trustees placed her on 
administrative leave and never brought her back -- essentially 
dismissing her -- after 31/2 years, even though she had been able to 
secure large donations for the school.
Martin University students had circulated petitions against the changes 
and had complained for several months, but Monday's firing apparently 
directly led to Tuesday's protest, which involved about 30 students.
Harry Murphy, 59, Gosport, a criminal law professor, said he was 
dismissed Monday and ordered out of the building. He complained that the 
situation at the small school had degenerated into one of "harassment 
and intimidation."
A printed report from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department 
said Murphy was escorted out of the university building, drove back and 
sat down at the front entrance. After being told he would be arrested if 
he didn't leave and responding ". . . he wanted to go the route Dr. King 
went," Murphy was arrested, according to the report.
Murphy was released on his own recognizance, and no charges have been 
filed, according to court records.
Another police report says a former student who had been expelled made a 
threat against Freeman in May.
The liberal arts institution, which offers 17 undergraduate and two 
graduate degrees, was founded to serve adult, minority and low-income 
individuals. The 2007 fall enrollment of full-time undergraduate 
students was 222, according to the school's Web site.







http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081022/METRO/810220447

Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Henry Ford students walk out of school in protest
Jennifer Mrozowski / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- More than 100 students walked out of Henry Ford High in 
Detroit Wednesday in protest, with many criticizing a new security plan 
implemented at the school following a nearby shooting last week that 
left one student dead.
"They've got a whole bunch of security, but nothing is going to change," 
said 10th-grader Deon Jordan, 17.
Detroit Public Schools issued a new security plan for Henry Ford this 
week that doubled security and incorporated other measures, but 
students, many of them wearing black armbands, say they still feel 
unsafe following the shooting death of Christopher Walker, 16. Others 
say the security team is overly harsh, handing out hefty suspensions for 
minor infractions and using chemical sprays on groups of unruly kids.
Advertisement
Walker's death followed a week of problems at the school in which 
students have reportedly been beaten bloody in front of teachers and 
several fires have been set in the school. A football game against 
Renaissance had to be moved for fear of violence. Officials have said 
the 1,300-student school appears to be plagued by gang activity, which 
some attribute in part to the influx of Redford High's students into 
Henry Ford after Redford's building was closed. The activist group By 
Any Means Necessary (BAMN) helped to arrange Wednesday's protest, 
organizers said.
Walker's mother, Bridget, who was at the school, said she understood the 
students' frustration.
"They're tired of the violence," she said. "It's senseless. It has to 
stop."
She said the school system needs to bring in more teachers and 
administrators who care about students. The district also needs to make 
sure students have the resources they need to learn, adding that 
Christopher and his twin, Joshua, often came home with no homework and 
said they weren't allowed to take textbooks home. Detroit Public Schools 
has had difficulties paying textbook vendors, but officials have said 
they are trying to work with the vendors.
Henry Ford High Principal Sharon Dennis said she appealed to students 
before the walkout over the announcement system to use good judgment and 
remember they could face consequences for their actions. She told them 
she understands they need to heal and informed them that the school is 
organizing an assembly to help with the healing process. The assembly 
was scheduled for next week but officials are trying to move it sooner 
to meet students' needs.
Assistant Superintendent Derrick Coleman said students still have to 
face consequences because walking out of school cannot be tolerated, 
adding that not all students who walked out were protesting security 
problems. Some didn't know why they were walking out, he said. Coleman 
added that the school seeks to involve parents quickly in the process so 
any issues can be resolved.
School board member Reverend David Murray, who arrived to see dozens of 
students milling about the front lawn, said it was a "mess waiting to 
happen."
He said the district needs to understand students are grieving and not 
punish them for their actions, which could cause their anger to boil 
over. School board member Marie Thornton said students have a right to 
protest.
Three teens have been arraigned in connection with the shooting, 
including the son of a city police officer.






http://www.ifex.org/ecuador/2008/10/16/cameraman_struck_with_stones_while/

16 October 2008
Alert
Cameraman struck with stones while covering demonstration in Guayaquil

(IPYS/IFEX) - On the morning of 7 October 2008, Eduardo Molina, a 
cameraman for the Red Telesistema (RTS) television network, was struck 
with stones as he covered a confrontation between students at the 
Aguirre Abad School and police in Guayaquil, western Ecuador. The 
students were protesting because an expansion of their school that had 
been promised by the prefect of Guayas province, Nicolás Lapentti, has 
not yet been built. The police suppressed the demonstration using teargas.

This is the second time Molina has been assaulted while carrying out his 
work. In September, a government party supporter hit him and attempted 
to take his camera to stop him from filming a demonstration.





http://allafrica.com/stories/200810150510.html

The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Tanzania: Angry Teachers Clash With Police Over Stoppage Order
Deogratias Kishombo
15 October 2008
Riot police yesterday fired in the air to rescue Tanzania Teachers Union 
officials who came under attack by angry colleagues protesting against 
the cancellation of their strike that was scheduled to start today.
TTU president Gratian Mukoba and the secretary general Yahya Msulwa were 
whisked away to safety in a police Land Rover amid a hail of missiles 
including stones and water bottles thrown at them.
But efforts by the law enforcers could not stop hundreds of angry 
teachers from causing extensive damage by smashing furniture at the 
Diamond Jubilee Hall, the venue of the acrimonious meeting.
"Why the heavy police presence. We are not criminals," shouted a sobbing 
woman teacher.
She said teachers in the country have been marginalised, insulted and 
exploited for many years and were now fed up. "Enough is enough," she 
shouted. They also vandalised vehicles belonging to the union officials 
that were packed outside the meeting venue that was turned into a war 
zone. Some teachers pelted police officers with water bottles.
Some teachers lay in the middle of the street to show their anger. 
Teachers' officials drawn form all over the country had met to plan 
today's strike. They arrived in the city before the Government won an 
urgent court injunction barring the strike action.
But teachers vowed to press on with the strike despite the court order.
The fracas started when Mr Mukoba attempted to persuade the teachers to 
obey the court order that stopped their strike.
Chanting teachers jeered him and one snatched the microphone from the 
master of ceremony to declare they will not turn back. The TTU officials 
were branded traitors before a rain of bottles and chairs began flying 
around. The police arrived immediately to bring the situation under control.
The teachers are demanding payment of Sh16 billion in allowance arrears 
and want the Government to implement a host of other demands.
But Judge William Mandia of the Labour Division of the High Court on 
Monday halting the planned strike. TTU have lodged a counter appeal 
which comes up for hearing later this week.
Meanwhile, teachers in Mwanza said they would proceed with the strike 
action today irrespective of the court order.
Meeting in Shinyanga yesterday, the teachers said they will not be cowed 
by threats of sacking from education or regional government authorities.
They said they will stay out of classrooms and suffer the consequences 
until the State addressed their plight, urging union leaders not to turn 
back.
The said the strike could only be called off after a vote by the more 
than 2,500 teachers.
"Teachers in Mwanza are set to strike today and expects their leaders to 
be in the frontline," a male teacher who wished not to be named said.
Mwanza TTU chairman John Kafimbi who addressed the angry teachers, said 
the union agreed with them. He asked the teachers to meet today at Ghand 
Hall in the morning to chart the way forward.
"The Government owes public servants about Sh23 billion out of which 
Sh16 billion is for teachers alone. This shows how insensitive our 
leaders are," the TTU official said.
Lake zone Research and Academic Workers Union (Raawu) secretary general 
Ramadhan Mwendwa said teachers' demands will not come easily and asked 
members to be ready to suffer for it.
Additional reporting by Paulina David in Mwanza.





http://news.indiainfo.com/2008/10/06/0810062029_protesting_teachers_baton_charged_in_himachal_pradesh.html

Protesting teachers baton charged Monday, October 06, 2008 20:28 [IST]
Shimla: At least 30 protesting teachers were injured when the police 
resorted to baton charge to disburse them in the state capital of 
Himachal Pradesh Monday.
More than 10,000 teachers, who were appointed through various 
parent-teacher associations (PTAs) during the tenure of the previous 
Congress government, have been on the warpath since the Bharatiya Janata 
Party (BJP) government announced in January this year that it would 
inquire into the cases of irregularities in their appointments.
"More than 500 teachers were protesting when some of the protesters 
tried to enter the secretariat. This led to clash between us (the 
police) and the protesters... we had to use force to disperse them (the 
teachers)," R.M. Sharma, Shimla's superintendent of police, told IANS.
He said five police personnel were also injured during the clash.
Vivek Mehta, a leader of the protesters, said they were staging a silent 
protest when the police used force to disperse them.
Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal has already announced a number of times that 
PTA appointees are not government employees and their agitation is 
uncalled for.




http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/26/stories/2008102656910300.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Protesting teachers lathicharged
Correspondent
The protest in response to JACTO’s call was total in Telangana
Photo: K.V.Ramana

Tough fight: Police lifting a teacher from dharna in front of the 
Collectorate in Nizamabad on Saturday.
MAHBUBNAGAR: Several teachers sustained injuries and over 20 were 
admitted in the hospital, when the police resorted to lathicharge on 
them, who as part of their agitation staged a dharna at Collectorate 
here on Saturday.
The teachers in response to the call given by JACTO assembled at 
Collectorate around 12 noon and staged dharna and organised rasta roko. 
After two hours of demonstration the representatives of JACTO tried to 
gate crash into Collectorate premises to submit their memorandum to 
Collector V. Usharani.
When the police prevented them from entering premises of the 
Collectorate, the agitating teachers tried to move in forcibly. 
Prompting the police to resort to lathicharge. The Police also arrested 
29 representatives of teacher organisations.
Later, opposing the arrest of their leaders and lathicharge, the 
teachers staged a sit-in programme in front of the One Town police 
station for about two hours. They demanded the suspension of Circle 
Inspector, Muthaiah.
They withdrew their agitation after assurance by the Additional 
Superintendent G. Satyanarayana that he would do justice.
Sangareddy Staff reporter adds: protesting teachers on Saturday held a 
dharna before the Collectorate preventing officials from entering the 
premises.
The agitation continued for about five hours forcing the police to 
search for an alternative route to divert the traffic on the main road, 
where the Collectorate was located.
Addressing the gathering TRS leader K. Taraka Rama Rao announced 
complete support to the agitating teachers. JACTO leaders Ashok Kumar, N 
Sangameswar, V Sangameswar, Ch Ramulu, Laxma Reddy, TRS leaders R. 
Satyanarayana, Navaj Reddy and CPM leader B Mallesh participated in the 
agitation. Karimnagar staff reporter adds: In spite of implementation of 
section 144 in the town, teachers have staged a massive dharna in front 
of Collectorate in Karimnagar town on Saturday demanding the government 
to solve their grievances. In the early hours, when the teachers’ 
association leaders assembled in front of the Collectorate, the police 
had instructed the protestors to leave the place as they had imposed 
section 144. But the teachers participated in massive dharna raising 
slogans against the state government.
Leaders of various political parties including TRS legislators Etala 
Rajender, T Harish Rao, BJP leader G Ramakrishna Reddy, TDP leader L 
Ramana and others also participated in the dharna and expressed their 
solidarity to the agitating teachers. Nizamabad Staff Reporter adds: 
Normal work at the Pragathi Bhavan housing several government offices 
was affected with the thin attendance of the staff members and officers 
following the picketing by teachers.Leaders and activists of different 
political hues (except Congress) squatted on the road and at the main 
entrance of the Collectorate in support of the striking teachers.
After a couple of hours the policemen bundled the agitating teachers and 
Opposition leaders into waiting vans. They were later shifted to 
different police stations. The arrested were released after a few hours 
late in the afternoon. According to the One Town police Sub-Inspector, 
S. Lakshminarayana, 561 agitators were arrested and let off after taking 
their names. .






http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/07/stories/2008100751790300.htm

Tamil Nadu

10 injured in group clash
Staff Reporter
VANIYAMBADI: Ten persons were injured when two groups clashed over the 
transfer of the headmaster of the Vellakuttai panchayat primary school 
in Alangayam union near here on Monday.
The police said Durai, headmaster, was transferred against his will. 
When Assistant Education Officer Vijayalakshmi visited the school, two 
groups came over there. One of the group, headed by Arumugam, supported 
Durai. It questioned why he was transferred against his will. The other, 
headed by Parent Teachers’ Association president Vijay Kumar, was in 
favour of the transfer. After heated arguments, the groups clashed. Then 
they blocked traffic on the Alangayam-Vaniyambadi Road, near Vellakuttai.
The Alangayam police persuaded them to withdraw the protest. The injured 
were admitted to the government hospital at Vaniyambadi.






http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/20/stories/2008102053280300.htm

Other States - Puducherry

Teachers to protest
PUDUCHERRY: Members of the Puducherry Government Teachers’ Associations 
Co-ordinating Committee and the Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe Teacher 
Associations’ Joint Protest Committee will take out a rally on Monday to 
press long-pending demands of teachers. According to a release, several 
teachers associations would launch a series of protests condemning the 
government and the Education Department for the delay in fulfilling the 
demands of the teachers.





Seven protest actions to enliven Jakarta today

Detik.com - October 16, 2008

At 2pm meanwhile, the Jakarta Office for Primary
Education in Jatinegara, East Jakarta, will be
visited by the Teachers Reform Forum (FGR).






http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/world/thousands+protest+at+french+reforms/2588112

Thousands protest at French reforms
Print this page
Last Modified: 19 Oct 2008
Source: PA News
More than 30,000 demonstrators marched across Paris to denounce the 
conservative government's budget restrictions, job cuts and other 
controversial reforms in France's public education system.
Teachers, students, parents and school administrators took to the 
streets in the march behind a banner that read, "Education is our 
future," and vowed to press on with their effort in the coming weeks.
Organisers said around 80,000 people turned out for the protest, while 
police put the figure at 32,000.






http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7012710115

Thousands Protest In Paris Against Controversial Education Reforms, Job Cuts
ShareThis
October 19, 2008 2:10 p.m. EST
AHN Staff
Paris, France (AHN) - Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to 
protest against the government's decision to lay off employees and make 
other changes in the country's public education system.
Around 32,000 protestors included teachers, students, parents and school 
administrators who organized demonstration to stop France from adopting 
controversial reforms in the field of education.
France's National Assembly is due to debate the 2009 education budget on 
November 4, which is likely to slash as many as 13,500 jobs.
The administration under President Nicolas Sarkozy has scrapped as many 
as 19,700 jobs in 2007 and 2008, instead of replacing the retiring 
employees.
The 47 organizations, including teachers' and students' unions and 
parents' associations, fear that reforms in education will lead to 
crowded classrooms and the curriculum will be trimmed.






http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/15/europe/EU-Romania-Teachers-Protest.php

Romania: teachers demand higher wages

The Associated Press
Published: October 15, 2008

BUCHAREST, Romania: Thousands of Romanian teachers rallied Wednesday in 
Bucharest to support a law that increases their salaries by 50 percent.
The government says Romania cannot afford the wage increase and 
contested the law — passed by Parliament — at the Constitutional Court. 
The court, however, ruled the law was constitutional.
To be enacted, the law must be approved by President Traian Basescu. The 
government has accused lawmakers in Parliament of passing populist laws 
to gain public support before general elections on Nov. 30.
Unions say 15,000 teachers protested Wednesday. Teachers were also 
threatening to go on strike around the country if they do not get the 
promised salary increase.
The new law means the government will also be under pressure to increase 
wages for doctors and public servants.







http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/09/22/college_faculty_to_protest_contract_impasse/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news

College faculty to protest contract impasse
September 22, 2008
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WESTFIELD
Professors and staff at Westfield State College say they have had enough 
of stalled contract talks with the state Board of Higher Education. The 
faculty planned to set up a picket line on the campus today to protest 
the impasse. Kenneth Haar, president of the school's chapter of the 
Massachusetts State College Association, said the union will demand that 
Governor Deval Patrick give the board the financial parameters it needs 
to negotiate a new contract. Haar said it is time for the governor to 
"put resources behind his rhetoric." Westfield president Evan Dobelle 
planned to march in support of the faculty. He said professors at the 
school, on average, were earning 19 percent less than the national 
median. The contracts expired June 30. (AP)







http://allafrica.com/stories/200810271835.html

Cameroon: Lecturers to Protest Poor Pay
Azore Opio
27 October 2008

Higher education and research in the country seem to be in grave danger 
of losing their top-ranking man power due to poor pay and appalling 
working conditions. Thus, lecturers of the six state universities are 
turning up the heat on the government to raise their pay and improve 
their working conditions else, they would go on strike on November 10, 
this year.
It is in this light, that the National Union of Teachers of Higher 
Education, known by its acronym, SYNES, has served the Minister of 
Higher Education a statutory notice of intention to go on strike if 
their demands are not fulfilled.
SYNES copied the rectors and vice chancellors of all the state 
universities.It would appear that SYNES Buea branch held a coordinating 
meeting mid last week, which, according to a very reliable source, was 
heavily attended to strategise on how to carry out the strike and how to 
deal with blacklegs.
The meeting, which was also attended by SYNES national executive members 
from Yaounde, focused on poor remuneration and other disincentives the 
Cameroonian university lecturer is subjected to.
SYNES is demanding that the lecturers be upgraded to salary scales such 
as obtains in Chad, Ivory Coast and Senegal.An assistant lecturer in 
Senegal, according to a source, earns about FCFA 600,000 while his/her 
Cameroonian counterpart receives a paltry FCFA less than FCFA 300,000.
Lecturers this reporter spoke to said school facilities directly affect 
teaching and learning and poor conditions make it more difficult for 
them to deliver adequate education.Several said poor conditions such as 
little office space and teaching space; inadequate research funds, yet 
what little funds there are, are spent on holding meetings and paying up 
suppliers; no free access to Internet facilities have led them to 
consider changing schools.
Some are thinking about leaving teaching, while others have taken up odd 
jobs to make ends meet.In addition, many feel that the job of a 
Cameroonian lecturer requires almost daily compromising of one's meagre 
income, as some of them often must choose between protecting the 
fiduciary interests of the government and the educational needs of the 
students in their caseloads.
A case in point is elaborated by some lecturers in the Sciences 
Department who sometimes are compelled to buy chemicals and reagents 
from their pockets.This, they consider, is unfair.More fundamental 
issues, however, are also at stake.
Because of the enormous disincentives, which include a staggering amount 
of paperwork, overwhelming caseloads, endless meetings, escalating 
poverty and increasingly adversarial, uncivil and often litigious 
hierarchy, the lecturers resolved that this is their last chance to 
fight for their rights.
Poor working conditions are literally driving the lecturers out of 
classrooms into the streets, farms, petty trading, taxi businesses, 
running bars and so on, just to make ends meet.Said one of them your 
reporter met arranging bottles of beer inside a refrigerator in his bar.
"Imagine a lecturer with little money and no time for himself...what do 
you want him to do? Perish?"All too often, the most highly trained 
lecturers wallow in a sea of paperwork while under-trained protégées and 
favoured courtiers of top government officials and politicians feed on 
fat for doing nothing.Despite their hard work and dedication, many 
lecturers work for minimum wage.
(from Postnewsline)






http://www.poland.pl/news/article,Union_of_Real_politics_organizes_protests_against_schooling_for_6-year_olds,id,350549.htm

Union of Real politics organizes protests against schooling for 6-year olds
2008-10-14, 14:42
The Union of Real politics non-parliamentary right-wing party is 
organizing nationwide protests against institutionalized schooling 
obligation for 6-year olds.
According to the organizers, the parents have the right to decide at 
what age they will send their kids to school. They are calling for 
freedom of choice for parents.
Presently, parents may choose to send kids to public schools at six year 
old, but the ministry wants to make this an obligation by 2011. Tens of 
thousands of parents have already protested against the idea in several 
campaigns, arguing they don't want their children forced into a system 
that is in a terrible state in many aspects and often harms rather than 
helps even older students.






http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24539576-1242,00.html?from=public_rss

Teachers protest over transfer scheme
AAP
October 23, 2008 07:31am

TEACHERS from a Sydney school will protest outside the NSW state 
parliament today after a colleague was denied a position at another 
school under a new transfer scheme.
The teachers from Sackville Street Public School, and surrounding 
schools in the Campbelltown area, will converge on Macquarie St at 11am 
(AEDT).
NSW Teachers' Federation deputy president Gary Zadkovich said teachers 
who worked at hard-to-staff schools, such as Sackville Street, no longer 
had priority when applying for a transfer.
"The teacher denied a transfer was advised by the (education) department 
that, although she matched the required codes and had the highest number 
of transfer points of any applicant, she will have to compete for the 
position with other teachers who have applied for the vacancy," Mr 
Zadkovich said.
The Education Department said that Sackville Street Public would be the 
only school affected by the industrial action.