Australia: UOW students join national Make Education Free Again demonstration

Australia/Marzo de 2017/Autor: Agron Latifi/Fuente: Mercury

RESUMEN: Donald Trump ganó la presidencia de Estados Unidos en la parte posterior del lema de Make America Great Again. Sin embargo, un portavoz de la Unión Nacional de Estudiantes (NUS, por sus siglas en inglés) dice que su mensaje «Make Education Free Again» tiene un mensaje positivo. Chris Di Pasquale, con sede en Melbourne, estuvo en la Universidad de Wollongong el jueves como parte de una jornada nacional de acción organizada por NUS en protesta por el «gran número de ataques contra la educación superior en Australia». Los estudiantes de toda Australia participaron en similares demostraciones «Make Education Free Again» el miércoles. «El hecho es que los sucesivos gobiernos tienen ahora más de una década, ya sean laborales o liberales, no aumentaron el financiamiento a las universidades», dijo Di Pasquale, funcionario de NUS LGBTI.»Había una vez una educación gratuita en este país y debería ser libre de nuevo.

Donald Trump won the US presidency on the back of the Make America Great Again slogan.

However a spokesman for the National Union of Students (NUS) says their ‘Make Education Free Again’ slogan has a positive message.

Melbourne-based Chris Di Pasquale was at the University of Wollongong on Thursday as part of a national day of action organised by NUS in protest to the ‘’slew of attacks against higher education in Australia’’.

Students throughout Australia took part in similar ‘Make Education Free Again’ demonstrations on Wednesday.

‘’The fact is that successive governments have now for over a decade, whether Labor or Liberal, not increased funding to universities,’’ NUS LGBTI officer Mr Di Pasquale said.

‘’Once upon a time there used to be free education in this country and it should be free again.

‘’There are governments around the world who give students free education while we have a federal government that can find the money to spend $50 billion in tax cuts for big corporations but for some reason can’t find money for education.’’

This view is shared by UOW student Chloe Rafferty from Warilla.

Miss Rafferty, the NSW education vice-president for NUS, said fees have ‘’skyrocketed’’ since 1989 when the [Bob] Hawke government abolished free education.

‘’Two-thirds of students now live under the poverty line and we think that the only fair education is a human right and not a commodity which is increasingly expensive,’’ she said.

‘’Today is part of a series of protests around the country to start to revive a student movement that is pressuring the government against its $3 billion of cuts the Liberals are trying to pass, pressuring against the attacks on youth welfare and against the attacks on weekend penalty rates.

‘’We want to push back in the other direction and say no more attacks. We want to fight for a decent education and that means a free one.’’

There was also disappointed at government plans to cut 20 per cent from core university funding.

But the Minister for Education and Training, Simon Birmingham said funding of university students has grown at twice the rate of the economy and the Government was looking at what best encourages Australians to repay their HELP debts.

Fuente: http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/4550890/make-education-free/