education and learning

News and articles about work, policy and workers' and students' struggles in education around the world.

Unrest over academies expansion

As 70 failing schools join the 310 already on the list of schools which will be or already are now operating as academies, coalitions of parents in Brighton and Hove, Ipswich and Sheffield are challenging moves to switch them over.

In separate developments, privatisation moves in Goldsmiths College, London and Essex University are also being fought by staff and students, and sponsors of the Unity Academy – one of the early flagships of the initiative – have pulled out. The academy lost its primary backer, Amey, who deny financial pressures are behind their decision.

Germany: high school students strike

High School students struck and marched across Germany yesterday in protest against classroom overcrowding, lack of teachers, and the pressure of examinations.

Some 100,000 participated in demonstrations across the country, walking out of classes and marching in over 40 cities. They protested for more permanent staff, smaller classes, and against a sped-up version of the school leaving exam, called the “turbo-abitur”.

The Permanent Crisis in Education: On Some Recent Struggles in Greece - TPTG

A detailed look at the strikes and occupations by teachers, students and parents in 2006-7 in response to neo-liberal policies being imposed on the Greek educational system.

Education - further reading guide

Libcom's guide to further reading on education.

*Jonathan Kozol:
- Savage Inequalities
- Illiterate America
- On Being A Teacher
- The Night Is Dark And I Am Far From Home
- Death At An Early Age
- Rachael and Her Children
- Free Schools
- Children of the Revolution
- Prisoners of Silence

*Michael Apple:
- Ideology and Curriculum
- Ideology and Practice in Schooling - w/Weiss

Ofsted workers latest to strike over pay

Ofsted inspections across England are halted today as 1000 staff walk out in a dispute over pay.

Inspections of nurseries, children's care homes, childminding services and boarding schools will all be hit. Ofsted has imposed a below inflation pay deal along with a new pay structure, which members of UNISON and the PCS have rejected.

This is the latest public sector stoppage over sub-inflationary pay rises - real pay cuts

April 24 – hundreds of thousands to walk out

On Thursday April 24 thousands of civil servants, coastguards, council workers, FE lecturers and charity workers will join a national teachers strike of 200,000.

Employer attacks on workers' pay is the main issue at stake.

Teachers in the NUT are walking out over their pay deal which was supposed to be revised when inflation rose, but the government refused: effectively cutting their wages.

20,000 Birmingham council workers to strike

20,000 GMB, UNISON, AMICUS, TGWU (Unite) and UCATT members will strike alongside teachers and lecturers against council plans to use ‘Single Status’ negotiations to cut pay and jobs.

Council workers will be protesting against the new pay and grading system imposed by Birmingham council last week, affecting 40,000 staff.

UNISON has branded the structure discriminatory. Though it was designed to end wage inequalities, some workers will lose up to half their pay.

Lecturers to join teachers' strike

College lecturers in England have voted to strike on Thursday 24 April in support of a demand to bring their pay up to that of schoolteachers.

Lecturers in over 250 colleges were balloted by UCU. The UCU website states that the the result shows solid support for industrial action: 65.5% of those voting* supported strike action and 86.2% also supported other forms of industrial action short of a strike.

Poland: Three labour conflicts highlight the state's animosity towards Workers

Currently there are many labour conflicts in Poland, including various forms of strikes and protest. Almost 20 years after Poland's transition to a market economy, labour unrest is still strongest in the budget sector and in state-owned companies.

THE STRIKE IN BUDRYK: Miners get the shaft as elite get wealthy

The mining industry in Poland is still a quite healthy business. Fuel prices are rising as is the global demand for coal. Budryk is one of the mines in Poland that was making a very healthy profit – until a labour dispute began costing the mine losses of about 1 million US dollars per day.

education and learning