PHOTO: Pay School Fees, Then We Stop Blockade

Besides the urgent draft of a new law, students seek that the ministry issue an order that pays for all school fees for 2009/2010.

ZAGREB, CROATIA - The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb is going into its third week of being blocked by protesting students. The independent student initiative blames the responsible ministry and Croatian Cabinet for this situation.

At today’s press conference they said that their demands are very clear, and that the ministry has not answered student demands with any actions. The students also said that by shifting the blame to other institutions and blaming parties for being behind the strike, they showed their irresponsibility and incompetence.

Once again they sought the constitutionally guaranteed right to education at all levels – undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate. They also repeated that the Bologna process has ruled out the so called eternal students that have been stressed as a problem to achieving free education.

The students announced the minimal conditions that would prompt them to cancel the blockade. These are:

1. An order that will bind the responsible authorities to pay for school fees for the year 2009/2010.

2. Starting a procedure to make changes which would secure the total public financing of high education at all levels, and for the proposal to be read at the first autumn sitting of parliament at latest. They seek the urgent formation of a workgroup to make the law, which faculty representatives will participate in, and the draft of the law should be sent to the scientific and academic institutions for discussion.

They also announced a list of the institutions and associations that have offered support, and there are currently 103 of them.

Take a look at the photo gallery: Pay Our School Fees, We Will Stop Blockade.

In Split today, the students marched the streets accompanied by police. The rector of the University of Split, Ivan Pavic, claims that classes started today, and the students marched to show that their demands have not yet been met.