A few days before the first bell of the school year that starts on 11 September in Greece, the government not only refused to meet the teachers’ representatives, but also greeted them with tear gas and repression!

On 4 September, teachers responded to the call of their trade unions and demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Education, shouting slogans against the class mergers, demanding that they be cancelled and that students not be packed into classrooms like sardines. Government regulations this year call for over 1,000 classes across the country to be merged, creating classes of 27 students.

The protesters had been outside the Ministry of Education for an hour and a half, demonstrating against the class mergers in schools and demanding a meeting with the minister, when the police forces attacked them.

The press office of the CC of the KKE issued a statement on the matter, which reads as follows: “The KKE condemns the unprovoked attack by the riot police on parents, students and teachers who were demonstrating with the just demand to cancel the mergers and closures of classes and to reduce the number of students in classes. Instead of meeting with the elected trade unionists of the federations who had made a similar demand, the ministry’s leadership ‘welcomed’ them with police truncheons and tear gas. No matter how much the government tries to convince us that its policies are aimed at improving schools and promoting children’s rights, the reality is different. Anti-popular policies are always accompanied by increased authoritarianism and repression. But the people will not be intimidated, they will continue to fight for their children’s education and the government will realize this in the coming period.”

05.09.2024