Global Student Stories: protests and policy debates

France: students protest against labour reforms

Students protested nationwide against the government’s plans to reform labour laws on Wednesday, 9 March.

A new law would remove affect workers’ rights, as it would remove protections against being dismissed.

In Paris, between 27,000 and 29,000 protesters marched from the headquarters of Medef, France’s largest business lobby, to the Place de la République.

According to the interior ministry, 224,000 demonstrators protested in other parts of the country, while the organisers estimate a number of 400,000 people.

The majority of them were students, joined by youth organisations and trade unions.

President Francois Hollande believes his reform might encourage industries to employ more people, and therefore lower France’s unemployment rate, which is still over 10% and around 25% among the youth.

However, many people fear the change might increase the job insecurity.

So far more than a million people have signed an online petition against the law proposal.

South Africa: campuses closed after violence

The Tshwane University of Technology has closed its Soshanguve campuses on Monday 7 March, after an increase in violence on campus in order to guarantee the students’ safety.

Students living in on-campus accommodation had to vacate their rooms until Wednesday 9 March at 2pm.

Campuses and all activities there will be reopened on 5 April.

The other TUT campuses will not be affected.

The previous week, numerous people had protested violently, leaving several people injured.

The university’s spokesperson, Willa de Ruyter, explained “creating an environment that is conducive to teaching and learning is of critical importance to the university. In order to stabilise these campuses, a decision was taken today to close these campuses with immediate effect.”

Vice-chancellor Lourens van Staden said that “It must be noted that a number of the people who are causing these disruptions are, in fact, not registered TUT students.”

Ethiopia: student protests against police restraint

Students have protested in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, demanding police crackdowns to end.

On Tuesday, 08. March students of the Addis Ababa University marched to the embassy of the United States, which is the largest donor to Ethiopia.

“We are not terrorists. Stop killing Oromo people,” signs at the demonstration said.

The police’s measures were caused by numerous protests after the government had planned to reallocate farmland last year.

Protest groups believe about 200 people have been killed in last year’s protests.

The government denies this, saying the death toll is much lower.

Protests are extremely rare in Ethiopia, as people there fear the police and the government.

Australia: universities demand policy certainty

Australian universities have criticised current education policies.

They demand clarity about the funding of higher education and the opposition’s plans for research and development funding.

At the end of last year, the coalition postponed changes in higher education funding.

The government had planned to deregulate university fees; however, there it had no support in the senate.

The Universities Australia chair and vice-chancellor of the University of Western Sydney, Prof Barney Glover criticised both major parties.

Glover said: “Almost two years of policy insecurity and uncertainty is taking its toll on the ability of universities to plan and allocate resources in their students’ best interests. It is difficult to imagine any other industry tolerating such policy instability.”

He added: “we need to get clarity and I don’t think it’s enough to say that in the lead-up to the next election we can continue to consult about it.”