Today, November 14, students from schools and universities take to the streets for the right to education and the climate.
Also in Messina, as throughout Italy, there will be a student strike for a school that truly responds to the needs of students.
Caterina La Rocca, Rete degli Studenti Medio declares: “We want a student-friendly school, we have continued to reiterate this for years. It is unacceptable that 95% of the schools in Sicily are not up to standard, without all the certifications for school buildings. It is necessary that this ministry, the regional and metropolitan city governments take the responsibility of investing structurally in schools, for the right to education. In recent days we have heard about sexual, emotional and consent education in schools, as Middle Student Network, we say it strongly, we want it to be compulsory, during curricular time and carried out by specialized personnel”.
“The school must regain a central role not only in the public debate but also in the political agenda”, continues La Rocca.
“The right to study must be central and truly guaranteed in schools throughout Italy and Messina, among the requests is peace education, putting current events at the center of the school debate, but also awareness raising courses on gender violence and the climate crisis”.
The Union of University Students of Messina will also be in the streets today 14 November for a university accessible to all. News from a few days ago, the number of eligible non-beneficiaries is increasing at the University of Messina. For Emanuele Carlo, Udu Messina coordinator: “Tomorrow we will be in procession to reiterate that the right to study must be protected and cannot be considered as a privilege. In recent days, unfortunately, we have witnessed serious violations of this right: first of all the publication of the Ersu scholarship ranking which sees 4360 eligible non-beneficiaries out of 5120 requests, for the moment approximately 9 out of 10 students will not receive a euro.
furthermore, the student residence project presented and discussed in the city council paints a terrifying picture: single rooms for 650 euros, a figure well above the market price and only 30% of the beds advertised for low-income students.
together with all this, the departments frequently flood and the spaces dedicated to male and female students are lacking.
We need an immediate change of course, we will assert ourselves.”
The route of the procession, which will start at 9.30 from Piazza Antonello, will wind along Corso Cavour, Via T. Cannizzaro, Via Garibaldi and end in Piazza dell’Unione Europea (Piazza Municipio).