Private universities: The dance of reactions has begun – Students blocked the entrances to AUTH

The central entrances of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki have been symbolically blocked since the morning of Thursday, March 7 by members of the city’s student associations.

The reason for the protest is the debate that started yesterday in the Plenary Session of the Parliament regarding the Education bill, which provides for the establishment of “non-state non-profit universities”, so-called private ones, in Greece. The bill is expected to be put to a vote tomorrow, Friday, March 8. On that day, a pan-Hellenic rally will take place in the center of Athens, where the reactions of the students will peak.

The students have posted banners at the entrances of the university on Egnatia and Ethniki Amini streets. The blocking of entrances will last until 12:00.

Then they are expected to gather in Kamara, in the center of Thessaloniki, and march against the bill.

Students are then expected to return to the university again and block admissions again.

What are the students saying?

“For eight weeks now, the students have continued our protests without any movement,” said yesterday the president of the Electrical, Mechanical and Computer Engineering student association Giorgos Tsakiroglou, noting that “this bill makes injustice a law, because it allows some with a minimal payment base to buy degrees, while all the rest of us have to enter a procedure with cutters and a minimum admission base with nationwide admissions, in order to have access to higher education”.

“We invite every male and female student to participate in the boycott of AUTH tomorrow at 07:00, in the rally at 12:00 in Kamara, but also in the large nationwide rally of student associations, on Friday at 12:00 in Propylaia,” he said from on her side, the president of the Chemistry student association, Christina Stamoulis.