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From
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eustudenten@gmx.net
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Date
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Fri, 3 May 2002 21:39:20 +0200 (MEST)
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Subject
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Re: ls: Studenti: support call education is not for sale!
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Education is not for sale is a lose network of teachers, students and
schoolstudents from several Europen countries. We are organizing ressistance
against the GATS treaty (a WTO treaty) wich will commercialize education even more
as it is now. The European Union is negociating the GATS-treaty for its
member states and at the moment education is one of the big issues at the GATS
negociations.
In December 2001 we orgainized a studentblock at the demonstration during
the EU summit. We are organizing forums about education (like the one in
brussels on December 14 2001) and in Salamanca (Spain) in March 2002.
At the moment we are mobilizing for protests against privatization of
education, tutionfees and the GATS treaty on a dezentral level in several European
countries. In June (20-22) we organize a European-wide student- and
schoolstudent demonstration in Sevilla during the EU summit. At another demonstration
organized by the Sevilla social forum we will organize a schoolstudent- and
studentblock. There will also be an international meeting of the network to
discuss the upcoming protests in European countries in European countries in
the second part of 2002.
Our call education is not for sale is signed by persons from across Europe.
Unfortunally we don`t have an Italian version (would be great if somebody
could translate the call..?) yet.
You can read more about the network (you can also find the call there) on
our website, the most information is at the startingpage and the English pages.
The webadress is:
www.education-is-not-for-sale.org
Best regards
René Schuijlenburg
>
> please tell me something more....
>
>
> >We are looking for somebody who can translate the call education is not
> for sale
> >into Italian..
> >We have started to mobilize for the EU-wide demonstration (and forum
> about
> >education) of students, schoolstudents and teachers against the European
> >education policies and the GATS treaty during the EU summit in Sevilla
> (20-22
> >June 2002).
> >
> >We are looking for organizations and persons who want to support the call
>
> >education is not for sale by signing it (read the call below and see wich
> >people and organizations already signed it...) in order to expres the
> broad
> >support for the campaign in several countries. You can sign the call by
> sending
> >an e-mail with the text Signature in the subject line and with your name
> or the
> >name of your organization, city and the country where you are coming
> from.
> >Send this information to: info@education-is-not-for-sale.org
> >
> >Here is the call:
> >
> >EU-wide protestcampaign in 2002:
> >
> >Education is not for sale!
> >
> >Forum about education and international studentblock at demonstration
> Sevilla
> >(Spain) June 20-21-22
> >
> >Decentralized protests in Europe during the summer-semester
> >
> >Study fees, budget cuts, deregulation, privatisation, lack of
> democracy... In
> >all European countries (and beyond) education is changing rapidly. A
> change in
> >education policy is also what we want, but not the neo-liberal changes
> >that are being pushed forward by the European Union and its member
> states.
> >
> >Why do they want to change the education systems ? While the UK's schools
> might
> >one day be worth £25bn a year to potential
> >"investors", the US system has been valued at $700bn. Worldwide,
> education is
> >worth trillions (for exact figure: OECD). If a country can seize an early
> and
> >substantial share of this market,its economy can overcome a crisis by
> that and
> >it ensures itself a big advantage in the competition with other ones. And
> >they are not only thinking like that in the UK, it`s EU policy and it`s
> the main
> >reason for many changes in the European education sector. Education is
> >increasingly not "only" a provider of new human resources for big
> business, but
> >big business in its own right.
> >
> >New laws in Europe
> >In Germany study fees are being introduced through the back door. There
> are
> >various kinds of fees, which aren't named as such. In Berlin students
> have to
> >make a contribution to the university-bureaucracy of 50 € per
> >semester, and in some states (Bundesländer) there are fees for students
> who have
> >studied for more than 13 semesters. In July 2001 one of the highest
> courts
> >declared this legal. Though these examples show the existence of study
> fees in
> >Germany, politicians still pretend that there are no fees and that the
> >discussion about their introduction was open.General study fees seem to
> be a
> >question
> >of time. Labeled as autonomy; universities shall and do search for
> funding
> >beside the stately budgets. Sponsoring increases. The present
> developments do
> >not only serve economical goals but can also be described as
> diciplination of
> >students. So is it possible now at some universities to drive out
> students who
> >studied more than a certain number of years without passing their final
> >exams. In Austria the government introduced study fees last year. In the
> UK an
> >increasing number of higher education and business leaders talk openly of
> a
> >completely privatised system of deregulated fees, while the government
> has
> >introduced privatisation into the school system for the first time. In
> Italy the
> >government have plans to privatise schools and universities. In the
> >Netherlands, Minister of Education "Hermans" is a great fan of GATS. In
> Spain
> >the goverment has introduced a new law called L.O.U. (In Spanish: Ley
> Orgánica
> >de Universidades). This law is reforming universities and will suppress
> the
> >joyce bodies of the universities, operate universities under strict
> managing
> >criteria, let the managerial class into the University, and encourage
> >Universities to finance themselves by competing for private money. The
> present
> >Directive that the Popular Party is proposing imposes the most
> conservative and
> >capitalist postulates of the right-wing policy. In Denmark the new
> neo-liberal
> >government has a majority in the parliament to make budget cuts specific
> to
> >education of 15 % within the next 3 years, and futhermore they are
> letting 6.000
> >extra students (which is a lot in Denmark) into the system without extra
> >funding. In France, for many years, university reforms have been intended
> for
> >diminishing the state financing and have been carrying an hiden
> privatization
> >planning. In 1998, the Attali Report recommended reforms in order to make
> the
> >colleges pay as they do in Anglo-saxons countries, what would destroy the
> >public services of education. This report particularly recommended a new
> system
> >of diplomas with degrees after 3, 5 and 8 years of study. Since this
> report, the
> >reforms by the former secretary of Education Claude Allègre, the "3rd
> >Millenium University" development plan (U3M), and most recently the
> reforms
> >engaged by the actual French secretary of Education Jack Lang, put into
> practice
> >these recommandations. The secretary of Education Jack Lang is now going
> >further, instituing points-scored degree i.e. the ECTS (European Credit
> Transfer
> >System). Students strike actions try to oppose this free market logic
> (the
> >firms will soon be allowed to invest in the Universities) and to stand up
> for
> >everybody's right to gain access to a good-quality knowledge. Such strike
> >actions particularly took place in November and December 1998 and March
> 2001. At
> >the French speaking university of Brussels most students have to pay for
> >language courses, only the exams are for free. The Belgium government
> stated
> >that they will never privatize higher education. What they mean is that
> the
> >public universities will always give the diploms etc. In praxis
> universities can
> >let companies do the courses. Students can follow the course for a fee by
> the
> >company and do the exam at the university for free. In Ireland tuition
> fees of
> >€3,000 to €4,000 are being discussed . The reintroduction of
fees
> >for full time students is one of two stark options set out in a
> >confidential draft report to the Irish Government. In Turkey the
> government
> >proposes new laws to get "ready" for GATS.
> >
> >The European Round Table Of Industrialists (ERT) In Europe, the reforms
> required
> >to privatise state education are gradually
> >being put in place. Under pressure from the European Round Table of
> >industrialists (ERT), the European Commission has decided to take things
> in
> >hand, and new information and communication technology offers an ideal
> pretext
> >for doing so. Every six months, the ERT holds a meeting with the
> president of
> >the
> >European Union to discuss priorities. Since 1999, this pressure group has
> been
> >chaired by Morris Tabaksblat, president of the Anglo-Dutch company
> >Reed-Elsevier, which has declared its intention of becoming the world
> leader in
> >the education and internet publishing sector. The ERT has also set up a
> working
> >group on external economic relations to supervise the progress of the WTO
> talks.
> >This is headed by none other than BP-Amoco chairman Peter Sutherland, who
> is a
> >former director-general of GATT. This lobby group is very clear about
> what it
> >wants governments to do: 'Responsibility for training must be assumed by
> >industry once and for all... education should be considered as a service
> to the
> >economy.' National education systems will not be completely eliminated.
> >Under the logic of the neo-liberal economy, in which profit-making
> entities are
> >privatised and loss-making ones are subsidised by the taxpayer,
> governments will
> >still have a role to play. The OECD wrote: 'The only role of the public
> sector
> >will be to ensure access to learning for those who will never be a
> >profitable market, and whose exclusion from society in general will be
> >accentuated as others continue to progress.'
> >
> >Bologna proces and GATS
> >In the Netherlands, minister Jorritsma(VVD,Dutch liberal party) has said
> >that the universities should be jugded by their market-ableness. His
> comment fit
> >in the framework of the Bologna declaration of the European ministers of
> >education and the General Agreement of Trade in Services (GATS) of the
> WTO.
> >European schools and universities have to transform so they will be
> competitive
> >for competitors from non European countries . In Germany the education
> system is
> >getting re-structured according to the proposals of neo-liberal
> >think-tanks like the CHE (center for university-development which is
> closly
> >linked to the Bertelsmann Group). The study-structure for example is
> supposed to
> >be
> >transformed from a more open diploma- or magister-system towards a
> restrictive
> >Bachelor/Master-system . This structure means: a light version of
> education for
> >everyone and special skills for some chosen few. It means more pressure
> to
> >finish your studies (although 75% of the german students have to work in
> >order to finance their studies), it means a reduction of content,
> especially
> >such that can be considered as critical. The Bachelor-Master structure is
> part
> >of the Bologna proces. With this system the universities can easylier
> compete
> >with eachother. They are trying to sell it to students with the slogan
> about
> >mobility, but who`s mobility? The mobility of the ones who can afford it!
> >
> >GATS By means of GATS (General Agreement on Trade on Services, a WTO -
> World
> >Trade Organisation - treaty) state (public) services like education
> services and
> >healthcare are declared a tradable commodity. At the moment the
> >liberalisation of education and healthcare sectors are being negociated
> under
> >the umbrella of GATS. The USA, New Sealand and Australia made proposals
> for the
> >GATS-negociations about education. The European Commission ( The
> unelected
> >"government" of the EU, which negotiates in the WTO on behalf of EU
> member
> >states) has also demonstrated its commitment to the liberalisation of
> public
> >services. The European Union already accepted to open their markets for
> primary
> >education services, secundary education services, higher education
> services and
> >adult education services for public - private partnerships. And since the
> >negociations about education are not finished yet, there is a danger that
> the EU
> >will even go further. Given that the Commission's 'Towards GATS 2000'
> statement
> >of intent calls GATS "first and foremost an instrument for the benefit of
> >business", the coverage of education by GATS will contribute to the
> extension of
> >private initiatives to education at all levels throughout the world (at
> January
> >1st 2002 144 countries were member of the WTO). At the WTO ministerial
> >meeting in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001 the WTO member states have
> agreed that
> >requests for countries to open up their services sectors will be
> submitted by 30
> >June 2002 and initial offers of countries to liberalise will be submitted
> by 31
> >March 2003. Negotiations on services, as with the other agreements, will
> be
> >completed by 1 January 2005. GATS rules may effectively prevent
> >government subsidies from being selectively applied to public services.
> There
> >are two key trade principles at the core of the GATS. These two
> principles are
> >designed to limit government interventions in the service sector. For
> example
> >under the national treatment principle, once a government signs up a
> service, it
> >could face WTO challenge if it implements legislation which favours local
> >suppliers over foreign suppliers. This has implications when it comes to
> the
> >granting of subsidies. For example, where a GATS commitment has been
> made,
> >governments providing subsidies to domestic service suppliers also have
> to make
> >an equivalent subsidy available to foreign providers operating in the
> country.
> >This raises the possibility of having a basic government-funded education
> >system, with funding given to all providers (private- and public), and
> then
> >allowing individuals to enhance this by paying top-up fees to providers
> with
> >varying so called "elite universities", or for the provision of 'optional
>
> >extras' at an additional charge. In other words, GATS could dramatically
> boost
> >the
> >trend even further away from universal and equal access to free, publicly
> >provided quality education (wich is something we`ve never had, but it`s
> one of
> >the goals we want to achieve), towards the spread of education systems
> based on
> >the ability of pupils and students to pay. Another big problem is that
> the
> >education programms will change when there is more and more competition
> between
> >private- and public schools and universities. Private institutions will
> only
> >learn people what "big bussiness" wants them to know. State schools and
> >universities will follow, otherwise they will lose pupils and students.
> Perhaps
> >the biggest threat posed by GATS is the threat to democracy. Once
> decisions are
> >reached under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS),
> government
> >activities in the services sector that are seen to 'interfere' with trade
> >faces the threat of WTO legal action. GATS means that if a government
> listens to
> >the voice of its people and responds by making appropriate policy changes
> it
> >also faces the threat of WTO legal action. For commercial and political
> >reasons it may be easier to "trade" higher education in particular for
> access to
> >other countries' markets for EU businesses. But the stakes are high:
> Pascal
> >Lamy, the EU Trade commissionair, stated, "For the EU, services are
> central. We
> >are number one in the world: 26% of world trade. Services account for two
> thirds
> >of EU GNP" and on another location he said about the trade in
> >services:"If we want to improve our own access to foreign markets then we
> can't
> >keep our protected sectors out of the sunlight. We have to be open in
> >negotiating them all if we are going to have the material for a big deal.
> In the
> >US and the EU, that means some pain in some sectors but gain in many
> others, and
> >I think we both know that we are going to have to bite the bullet to get
> what we
> >want". Alexa McDonough, the leader of Canada's National Democratic Party,
> >stated that the GATS constitutes "the greatest transfer of economic and
> >political power in history... from communities and nation states into the
> hands
> >of a small number of global corporations".
> >
> >The consequences:
> >- More and more schools and universities in Europe are being privatised
> >- Studyfees are being introduced or the fees are getting higher and
> higher
> >- The right to get a good education is more and more a question of money
> >- Democratic rights for pupils and students at schools and universities
> are
> >being cut
> >- The things we learn are increasingly the things companies want us to
> learn
> >
> >We want an education system for people, not for profits! We will not
> allow
> >education policies to be dictated by undemocratic
> >organisations such as the European Union, the World Trade Organisation
> and
> >private companies. Students, teachers, parents and pupils have to decide
> what
> >kind of education they want. We will have to act at the local and
> international
> >level to stop these developments since they are happening everywhere.
> >
> >For an international campaign during the summer-semester of 2002! We
> propose to
> >start an international campaign against these developments
> >during the summer-semester of 2002. In December 2001 students of several
> >European countries protested against the privatisation of education with
> >strikes, occupations and demonstrations. We think this short campaign was
> a step
> >into the right direction. We want to put more pressure on the
> decision-makers
> >and develop alternatives for a different kind of university. Therefore we
> call
> >on all students to join the forum about education and culture and the
> >international student demonstration in Salamanca (Spain) during March
> 17-19 and
> >to join the international student block and the forum about education in
> Sevilla
> >(Spain) during June 21 & 22. In the months between the protests and
> forums we in
> >Spain call all students to increase local protests against the
> privatisation of
> >education and to fight for our democratic rights at OUR universities!
> >
> >First supporting organizations and persons who signed this call
> >
> >Organizations:
> >
> >1. Appel pour une école démocratique (appeal for a democratic school),
> Belgium
> >2. Offene Linke Liste [oll] der University of Potsdam, Germany
> >3. Campaign for Free Education(UK), London, United Kingdom
> >4. Scudag-Koordinierungskreis, Network for a student- and schoolstudent
> >union, Germany
> >5. Observatorio Global de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
> >6. Kritische Studenten Utrecht, Netherlands
> >7. Aktionsbündnis für Freie Bildung (action-coalition for free
> >education),University of Wuppertal, Germany
> >8. Rudolf Steineracademie Antwerpen, Belgium
> >9. Initiative for Economic Democracy, Yugoslavia
> >10. Anarchist Black Cross Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
> >
> >persons:
> >
> >1. Susan George, writer, Associate Director of the Transnational
> Institute,
> >France
> >2. Rainer Marquardt, Mitglied im Personalrat des WDR (German radio &
> >Television), Dortmund, Germany
> >3. Sarah Stockmann,Vorstand LSV NW, scudag, Meerbusch, Germany
> >4. Özlem Demirel, Vorstand LSV NW,Cologn, Germany
> >5. Marcus Wendin, Peace quest, Göteborg, Sweden
> >6. Andrej Grubacic, historian, coordinator of Initiative for Economic
> >Democracy and SEE Social Forum, University of
> > Belgrade,Yugoslavia
> >7. Carlos Ruano, grupo activo "otro mundo es posible", Salamanca, Spain
>
> >8. Abel Valenzuela Garcia, University of Barcelona, Spain
> >9. Chris Paul, ceo innovation in digital and electronic arts (IDEA),
> >Manchester, NW, England
> >10. Referat für Frieden und Internationales (Section peace and
> international
> >affairs), AStA Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
> >11. René Schuijlenburg, EU Students, FH Dortmund, Germany
> >12. HoPo Referat, ASTA BUGH, Wuppertal, Germany
> >13. Jochen Vlieghe, ATTAC- university in Gent, Belgium
> >14. Sara Olvegård, Göteborg, Sweden
> >15. Ole Erdmann, Scudag-network, Bonn, Germany
> >16. Joris Verschueren, ATTAC-RUG, Gent, Belgium
> >17. Amanda O'Brien, Toronto, Canada
> >18. Alison Russell, Brussels, Belgium
> >19. Brit Eckhart, Boston-Cambridge Alliance for Democracy, Boston, MA.
> USA
> >20. Klaus B. Jensen, PLS, Copenhagen, Denmark
> >21. Info - Referat des ASTA der BUGH, Wuppertal, Germany
> >22. Mateusz Kuiavski, New Media student at Ryerson University in Toronto,
> >Canada
> >23. Margalit Laufer, OPEN POORT, cultural centre for children aged 1 -14
> >Zeist, Netherlands
> >24. François Josserand, Glasgow, Scotland
> >25. Paola Manduca, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
> >26. Crystal Chesshire, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
> >27. David Hachfeld, Berlin, Germany
> >28. Leopold Wonneberger, Attac, HU Berlin, Germany
> >29. Meredith de Landelles, Darwin, Australia
> >30. Manfred Bergmann, Roman Migrant Social Forum, Rome,Italy
> >31. Aslak Orre, CMI, Bergen, Norway
> >32. Dr. Eero Carroll, researcher in sociology, Stockholm University,
> Member of
> >Attac, Sweden
> >33. Hermann Gendrisch, Übach-Palenberg, Germany
> >34. Gunilla Andersson, student at Malmö University, member of Attac,
> Malmö,
> >Sweden
> >35. Martin Odalgård, Göteborg, Sweden
> >36. Irina Neszeri, member of city council Duisburg, Duisburg, Germany
> >37. Joe Rukin, editor educationet.org, Coventry UK
> >38. Eva Quistorp, MdEP a.D (former member of European Parliament),women`s
> >nnetwork of ATTAC , Berlin, Germany
> >39. Sten Rigedahl, secondary school teacher, Sundsvall, Sweden
> >40. Toni Segovia-Silvestre, Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain)
> >41. Andre Wokittel, Halle, Germany
> >42. Bianca Kurth, Bielefeld, Germany
> >43. H. - W. Hoffmann, Dipl. Des. Dipl. Ing, Dortmund, Germany
> >44. Prof. Dr. Ingrid Lohmann, University of Hamburg,Fachbereich
> >Erziehungswissenschaft ,Hamburg / Germany
> >45. James Redmond, member of socialist alternative, Ireland
> >46. Donal Lyons, member of socialist alternative, Ireland
> >47. Finbar Dywer, member of socialist alternative, Ireland
> >48. Ciaran Murray, member of socialist alternative, Ireland
> >49. Daniel Finn, member of socialist alternative, Ireland
> >50. Martina Marcet i Fuentes, student of 1st Batxillerat, La Nou de
> Bergedà,
> >Catalunya (Spain)
> >51. Oskar Wistbacka, Upper secondary school student, Vasa, Finland
> >52. Sabine Teubner, Brunnerstraße 4, 39112 Magdeburg, Germany
> >53. Steven Kelk, University of Warwick, England
> >53. Patricia Fumière, enseignante, Belgium
> >54. Beate Obst, Wuppertal, Germany
> >55. Daniel Zettler, Augsburg, Germany
> >56. Dominik Ruppenthal,
> >FachSchaftsVertreterInnenKonferenz(FSVK)-Spokesperson, Ruhr University,
> Bochum,
> >Germany 57. Eilert Stamm, LandesschülerInnenvertretung NRW, Niederkassel,
>
> >Germany
> >58. Frank Rippel, Berlin, Germany
> >59. Jiri Nantl, Vice Chairman of the Academic Senate, Masaryk University,
> >Brno, Czech Republic
> >60. Erich-Günter Kerschke, Cologn, Germany
> >61. Heiko Kunert, Regenbogen - für eine neue Linke (Rainbow - for a new
> left ),
> >Hamburg, Germany
> >62. Michael Schultze, Politikwissenschaftler, Magdeburg, Germany
> >63. Stijn Oosterlynck, Member of Attac, Belgium
> >64. Ulla Lötzer, MdB PDS (Member of German parliament), Köln, Germany
> >65. Christiane Fey, Journalistin und StudentIn FH Dortmund, Witten,
> Germany 66.
> >Mike RowleySteering Committee, Campaign for Free Education and member of
> >Alliance for
> > Workers' Liberty, Oxford, United Kingdom
> >67. De Marco, Paul, Richmond Hill, Canada
> >68. Lars-Olof Karlsson, member of ATTAC, Stockholm, Sweden
> >69. Anna Kossack, Vorstand LSV-Hessen, Berkatal, Germany
> >70. Glenn Rikowski, Hillcole Groupof Radical Left Educators, London,
> United
> >Kingdom
> >71. Jan Buelinckx, ATTAC-University of Ghent, Belgium
> >
> >Wanna sign this call? Send an e-mail with the text Signature in the
> subject line
> >and with your name or the name of your organization, city and the
> >country where you are coming from. Send this information to:
> >
> >Contact: info@education-is-not-for-sale.org
> >
> >Websites: http://www.education-is-not-for-sale.org
> >http://www.geocities.com/observaglobal/ (in Spanish)
> >
> >Mailinglists:
> >
> >English (The international list):
> >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/international-pupil-and-studentactions
> >
> >German:
> http://de.groups.yahoo.com/group/int-schueler-und-studentenaktionen
> >
> >Dutch: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/int-scholieren-en-studentenakties
> >
> >-- EU-wide protestcampaign in 2002:
> >Education is not for sale!
> >http://www.education-is-not-for-sale.org
> >
> >Die Kampagne education is not for sale kostet viel Geld...
> >
> >Spendenkonto für die Kampagne: Sarah Stockmann
> >Kontonummer: 447 282 51
> >BLZ: 305 500 00
> >Sparkasse Neuss
> >Verwendungszweck: Education is not for sale
> >
> >We need a lot of money to organize the education is not for sale
> campaign,you
> >could help us by transfering a little gift to:
> >
> >Sarah Stockmann Bankaccount: 447282 51
> >Number of the bank: 305 500 00
> >Name of the bank: Sparkasse Neuss
> >Reference: Education is not for sale
> >City: Neuss
> >Country: Germany
> >
> >GMX - Die Kommunikationsplattform im Internet.
> >http://www.gmx.net
> >
> >
> >
>
> -----------------------------------------------------
>
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> -----------------------------------------------------
>
>
--
EU-wide protestcampaign in 2002:
Education is not for sale!
http://www.education-is-not-for-sale.org
Die Kampagne education is not for sale kostet viel Geld...
Spendenkonto für die Kampagne:
Sarah Stockmann
Kontonummer: 447 282 51
BLZ: 305 500 00
Sparkasse Neuss
Verwendungszweck: Education is not for sale
We need a lot of money to organize the education is not for
sale campaign,you could help us by transfering a little gift to:
Sarah Stockmann
Bankaccount: 447282 51
Number of the bank: 305 500 00
Name of the bank: Sparkasse Neuss
Reference: Education is not for sale
City: Neuss
Country: Germany
GMX - Die Kommunikationsplattform im Internet.
http://www.gmx.net
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