And finally, the students camped in front of the Parliament. After months of agitation outside universities in Italy, the “tent protest” launched by the University Students’ Union and the Secondary School Students’ Network has reached the House of Representatives. What pushed the young people to the entrance of the Palace was the dissatisfaction with the Budget Law approved by the Council of Ministers.
“It’s a ridiculous figure from the government for schools and universities.”
“Many issues were discussed at the press conference yesterday, but nothing about schools and universities. Let’s read the government’s statement and see that the only investment announced for 2024 is $97 million for university accommodation, this is a ridiculous figure.” UDU coordinator Camilla Piredda explains: “The small amount of funds allocated, among other things, will not be used to create additional beds, but only to cover a gap in the Pnrr. This is money that will mainly go to the private sector. Accommodation fee, which can be up to a thousand euros per month “We asked to meet with Meloni and Bernini, but neither the President nor the University Minister responded to us. We feel we have been deceived and ask the Government to hold an urgent meeting to intervene on scholarships, rent, mental health, transport and canteens”.
“We will not stand by and watch in the face of political indifference,” adds Paolo Notarnicola, coordinator of the Secondary School Student Network. We will once again bring the mobilization throughout Italy, organizing demonstrations and meetings in schools and universities. I condemn the high cost of education and the lack of sufficient economic support. This budget law does not mention public schools, there are no measures to effectively guarantee accessibility to education, there is a lack of funds for school buildings. And that is why Italy on the occasion of International Student Day on November 17 We will demonstrate everywhere. “It will be a day of struggle to defend our rights and the centrality of education.”
Democratic Party in the square with students
“The situation is truly unsustainable for university students who continue to protest due to lack of response since last spring. The government has been offering stuttering promises or ineffective solutions for months, and financing the construction of private accommodation at costs similar to the rental market is useless”. This was said by Democratic Party lawmaker Rachele Scarpa, who took to the streets in Montecitorio to support the protest. “Dorm space continues to be scarce,” he says, and room rents remain very high. The high cost of living and the lack of adjustments to parents’ salaries make pursuing a university education even more unsustainable. “Will the curtains be closed in Montecitorio before the government rushes to stop this egregious violation of the right to education?”
Also in front of the House of Representatives was Nicola Zingaretti, former President of the Lazio Region and secretary of the Democratic Party and currently a member of parliament: “Students – he said – are bound to the Parliament to defend their right to education, which means defending the Constitution of the Republic.” “That’s why their complaints need to be listened to: pats on the back are not enough. Today, the majority of girls and boys who see themselves excluded from education, school and university are like this not because they ‘don’t deserve it’, but because their social conditions do not allow it.”
Fratoianni: “We stand with university students”
Nicola Fratoianni, national secretary of the Italian Left, explained: “University students do not give up and continue to mobilize in this country to demand the right to study, which is also the right to life. Rent does not become an insurmountable obstacle on a social level”. The MP from the Verdi Sinistra alliance then attacked the Meloni government: “With the new budget law, funds are allocated to private schools, not public schools. In short, the right-wing government is doing the exact opposite of what it is doing.” There will be a need here. Therefore, it would be good for students to take action, we are with them, as we have been all these months since the tent protest in Milan a few months ago. They are absolutely right, the government is listening. to them”.
Source: Today IT
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
