Students march in Athens demanding more education funding
A protest march in Greece's capital Athens called for higher state funding for education and repairs to school buildings. Police put turnout at about 4,000, a figure organisers dispute.
Students and pupils marched through Athens, the Greek capital, on 5 November to demand more state funding for education. The rally began at 11am outside the University of Athens and moved on to Syntagma Square, where crowds gathered in front of parliament behind police lines. The protest follows a larger one on 21 October and is also driven by the cost of living.
Demands
Participants set out concrete demands: more state funding, urgent inspections and repairs of school buildings, permanent posts to fill thousands of vacancies, smaller classes, withdrawal of new national exams, and dropping a proposal to remove Article 16 of the Greek constitution, which protects public higher education.
On the march
Protesters carried banners saying that from Greece to France they are fighting for free public education. Other placards bore the French slogan "Étudier ou survivre?" ("Study or survive?"), borrowed from France's school student protest movement. Outside parliament, some people dumped sacks of rubble from deteriorating schools to illustrate the conditions pupils face, including leaking roofs, crumbling plaster and broken radiators.
The secondary teachers' union, OLME, held a four-hour walkout from 10am so that staff could take part.
Turnout
Police estimated turnout at about 4,000 people across Athens and Thessaloniki combined. That is well below the 20,000 who marched in 50 Greek cities on 21 October. Organisers dispute the police figure.
Cost of living
Students say rents reach 800 euros a month and that many can no longer afford to study at all. Unions are demanding a monthly housing allowance and rent caps.
