A dozen student associations have written to the Minister for Education, Science and Innovation against what they call the “path to deepening privatization” of higher education in an open letter due to be delivered next week.
The open letter, published on Tuesday, was signed by student associations from 10 higher education institutions and will be submitted to the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation on April 30 during a meeting starting at 17:00.
In the text, the students address Minister Fernando Alexandra and criticize the government’s program presented two weeks ago, which they say opens the way to “deepening privatization and commercialization of higher education.”
About a month after a demonstration in Lisbon brought together thousands of university students against tuition fees, demanding more support and better conditions, the associations now write that “the path of this government is not the path that students want.”
And they point out, in pushing for an end to tuition, fees and awards, “undeniable economic barriers to access to and attendance at higher education, as well as attacks on its public character,” increasing scholarship costs and simplifying the application process. so “Don’t deprive students of the opportunity to get scholarships amidst such bureaucracy.”
Regarding one of the main current problems – the housing shortage – students refuse to “depend on the private sector and its speculative nature” and demand that the state provide public housing.
They also mention the cost of social meals, the shortage of psychologists, insufficient funding of institutions, as well as the lack of student representation in governing bodies, which they want to strengthen as part of the revision of the legal regime of Higher Education Institutions created on the initiative of the previous leader.
On the other hand, they reiterate their criticism of the structure of government and, while acknowledging that “politics are important,” lament the merger of the Departments of Education and Higher Education and the absence of a Secretary of State for Higher Education, which indicate that they do not reflect an assessment of the sector.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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