Spanish students strike to protest costly education reform
University students in Spain begin 72-hour nationwide strike over tuition fee increases and scholarship cuts.
A three-day country-wide strike is underway as students in Spain protest a new education law that would cut down the number of scholarships and increase tuition fees. Spain’s Union of Students reports many students are demanding the resignation of Jose Ignacio Wert, Spain’s Minister of Education, Culture and Sports.
Tuition fees have increased by 50 per cent over the last three years and there are 45,000 fewer students in Spanish universities this year compared to last year, prompting #Faltan45000 (“45,000 left out“) on Twitter.
Protesters are also using #QueHablenLos45000 (“Let’s talk 45,000“), #WertDimision (“Wert Resignation“) and #BloqueCritico22O (“Critical bloc October 22“) to express their frustration. A majority of the strikes took place in Madrid’s academic institutions.