Student protest ends without clashes

Shortly after 4pm, the protest of about 2000 students from ninety “occupied” university schools of Athens ended. The protest was aimed against the new Bill on Higher Education, which was voted on last week by the Greek parliament.

For at least two hours, almost all roads in the center were closed.

Students originally gathered in Propylaea and then marched towards the House.

A group of 20 helmet-wearing youngsters emerged from the group of students at around 13:35 and attacked a Police car, as well as three police officers who were stationed at Korai square, opposite the Propylaea.

This was followed a protest of students affiliated with the KKE, which began in Omonia.

Until today, seven departments of Panteion University, nine departments of the Technical University of Athens, three departments of the University of Athens (Information Technology and Telecommunications, Mathematics and Biology), 18 out of 21 departments of the University of Patras, seven departments of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and six of the Technical University of Crete are under student occupation and are not in operation.

In the morning, students affiliated with the Student Struggle Front staged an occupation of the Administration building of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, while the Student Board of the Thessaloniki TEI also occupied their school, planning to remain there for a week.

Meetings are ongoing in all universities and colleges, the chairs of which are going to meet within the day to determine their position.

Meanwhile, the schools of many universities in the capital, Thessaloniki, Patras and Crete are occupied, with the rectors of some of them having already announced that the upcoming exam period will be postponed.

It was only yesterday that Anna Diamantopoulou, the Education minister, said in a radio interview that both the university rectors and the students who occupy buildings are to blame for the latest situation in the Greek education system. She repeated there is no chance for undergraduates to have to pay university fees and underlined that all syllabuses will be provided to them for free.