A-Infos (en) Ireland, Stop Education Cuts Teachers & Students Unite - WSM* leaflet

The world seems about to end. The markets are convulsing, the banks are 
tumbling, the entire island is about to become some sort of black hole o the 
coast of Europe. ---- Never fear though, we've got a brilliant political 
establishment to shepherd us through the economic wilderness, and in the Budget 
on Tuesday 14th, October they revealed their master-plan, carefully crafted, as 
Mary Hana n said, to `protect the vulnerable'. ---- Unfortunately, it seems like
they've got a di erent understanding of who exactly `the vulnerable' in Irish 
society are. ---- It's not the poorest workers, who'll get hit hardest with the 
one percent levy, it's not all of us who can't a ord private health-care, and 
it's not the chronically undereducated sectors of society, who are facing the 
loss of child benefit, class size increases, etc.

  LOWER - Class Sizes

No, `the vulnerable' are those like
the banks, whose deposits and
stability have been guaranteed by
our tax money, and the builders,
who, thanks to former PD TD and
now head of the Construction
Industry Federation, Tom Parlon,
don't need to worry about limits
on their pro ts from xed-price
contracts. In fact, maybe `the
vulnerable' means the friends and
cronies of the Fianna Failers, those
who have access to the decision-
makers and can put a bit of pres-
sure on to make sure things turn
out alright.
It may have been the bankers and
builders who gained most from
the economic boom, but that sure
doesn't mean they're willing to
help pay for the bust. No, if cuts
are to be made, they'll be made
where it won't harm the govern-
ment or their friends ­ increased
taxes, attacks on an already under-
functioning health service, and
the further wealth-based segrega-
tion of education.

      Education is a Right - Not a Privilege

NO TO FEES

It's in this context that this latest
round of education cuts comes.
The government's slashing of
teaching posts for children for
whom English is not their rst
language, their decision to
increase class sizes and their
attacks on substitute cover will
have a hugely negative impact on
the quality of education that can
be provided in our schools, and on
the working conditions of teach-
ers.
This must also be looked at in the
context of the re-emergence of
fees for third-level education, with
the doubling of registration fees
as just the start. If you add this to
the halving, and eventual cut in
child bene t for 18-year-olds, it's
pretty clear that the people who'll
be hurt by this are the ones who
are already struggling to get their
kids to college. As for students,
they're going to be forced to take
out big loans, work part-time jobs
(if they can nd them) to keep
their heads above water and
   nally emerge out of college into
an economic wasteland.
The reason that students, teachers
and all the others getting shafted
in the budget, are being told to
take the fall-out of the recession is
that the government think they
can safely push us around. The
government retreat on the over-
70s medical card shows that we
don't have to choose to let them
push us around. But what's
needed is more than just a few
demonstrations and speeches;
we'll need to develop our own
power,      in     massive      self-
organisation from the grassroots
level and in our willingness to take
the ght to the government.

Free Education for Everyone

We need to build a national cam-
paign that can ght the battle to
prevent cuts at all levels of educa-
tion, to demand more not less
investment in our children's
future, to stop the further limita-
tion of access to third-level and,
ultimately, to push to improve the
entire education system from
pre-school upwards. This will
require a lot of work, and means
that links will need to be built
between students, parents, teach-
ers and other education sta at all
levels.
Third-level students have begun
the process of building an open
campaign which will ght for
equal access to education. The
`Free Education for Everyone' Cam-
paign is organising across all
colleges. If you want to join the
   ght for equal access to educa-
tion. get in touch with Free Educa-
tion for Everyone.

   stopfees@gmail.com

This lea et is being distributed by
anarchists who study or work
across the education sector. We're
working together to build a
democratic and open campaign
that can ght education cuts, chal-
lenge the imposition of fees and
push to improve access to, and
quality of, education. We want a
society where access to wealth
and power is equally distributed,
and we start by pushing for
improvements in our everyday
lives. Contact us to nd out more.

--------------------------------------

produced by:
  Workers Solidarity Movement
              www.wsm.ie | contact@wsm.ie
_________________________________________
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