In Greece, schoolchildren, students, and teachers have taken to the streets in mass protests

Mass protests involving schoolchildren, students, and teachers are taking place in Greece today.

The participants are demanding increased funding for public education, the elimination of staff shortages in schools, higher salaries for teachers, safety for school buildings, and more opportunities for students to transfer between universities.

Rallies are planned in more than 50 cities across the country at various times. In Athens, around 3,000 police officers will be deployed to maintain order.

Schoolchildren are protesting against the enlargement of classes, in which, according to their data, the number of students reaches 25–27. They are demanding that class sizes be limited to 15 students. Among other grievances are high prices in school cafeterias. Participants in the demonstrations propose providing free snacks and reducing the cost of food by abolishing the VAT on food products.

Dissatisfaction has also been caused by the new procedure for organizing school field trips, which, according to the students, makes them more difficult to conduct and increases the workload on teachers. The protesters are paying particular attention to the condition of school buildings.

In addition, schoolchildren are demanding a permanent presence of psychologists, social workers, and nurses, as well as the expansion of supplementary academic support programs.

Workers from other areas of the public sector are also joining the demonstrations. The Supreme Administrative Council of Civil Servants' Unions ADEDY has announced a three-hour strike for today. The Federation of Hospital Doctors' Associations of Greece is also taking part in the protests, having declared a nationwide strike. The Greek Federation of Primary School Teachers has announced a 24-hour strike. The Federation of Secondary School Teachers OLME has scheduled a work stoppage for several hours and has called on local union associations to additionally suspend work. The main problem for students remains the high cost of tuition and of living away from their parents' home. University students point to expensive housing rentals and the costs of food and transportation.

Source: Kathimerini