The world wakes up to free education

The international campaign for free education is underway.

As Irish third level students take to the streets in opposition to the proposed re-introduction of tuition fees, college-goers from over 20 countries around the world held protests of their own at the start of November to highlight similar ideals.

On November 5 the International Day of Action against the Commercialisation of Education took place, with demonstrations being held by students in cities across the globe.

As well as protesting against the possible re-emergence of tuition fees, activists also voiced their concerns over the growing trend of companies aiming promotions directly at primary and second-level schools, an issue that has become extremely prominent in America in the past few years.

Several Irish campaigners are now afraid that the education system in Ireland is going the same way. It is the opinion of the Campaign for Commercial Free Education (CCFE) that massive companies are exploiting the education system and its students by forcing different schemes and projects upon them.

According to the CCFE, these schemes masquerade in helping schools become more equipped for educating students with the help of new sports equipment or computers while generating masses of profit for themselves.

Such promotions include Tesco’s ‘Computers for Schools’ scheme and SuperValu’s ‘Kids in Action’, which encourages people to shop there in order to raise funds for school sports equipment.

The campaign argues that connecting advertising for a certain brand or store to a captive audience of school children is completely unethical. Students are legally obliged to be in school and therefore are being forced to endure the constant logos and advertising of a brand.

Irish government funds for education dropped considerably between the years 1995 and 2005 which led to cutbacks. This meant the suspension of new PE equipment and IT resources in schools. By providing these seemingly generous and helpful incentive schemes to schools and forcing parents and students to spend money, they are not only increasing their own intake but prolonging the government’s underfunding of schools.

One student activist in Germany who is the initiator of the International Day of Action, was also involved in the fight against fees over the last three years.

She said: “I understand the fears students in Ireland are facing with the threat of fees. It is unfair and unjust for the government to poach students for money.”

She is intent on informing parents, teachers and students of the effect that commercialisation will have in the long term on the education system.

“Group representatives that participated in this international day of action will get together during an international chat-conference and discuss how we will continue from here,” she added.

“I hope we will arrange further protests on an international level soon. It is important that as many people as possible hear about this initiative and focus more on the global perspective of the struggle.”