We strive to be heard!
The real situation in the higher education system requires consolidated actions by all member organizations of the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine. The low level of scholarship provision, the narrowing of potential opportunities for young people to obtain education, the incomplete resolution of issues of preferential travel for students – this is a consistent policy aimed at violating the social rights of students.
On April 7, 2016 at 11:00 in the Taras Shevchenko Park in Kyiv, together with caring students of Zaporizhzhia National Technical University, members of the primary organization of the ZNTU student union took part in the Precautionary All-Ukrainian protest action in defense of a decent future for student youth of Ukraine.
The park in front of the main building of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (60 Volodymyrska St.) was chosen as the gathering place. More than 1,000 young people took part in the action.
The action began with a rally – from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
And already at 12:00 p.m. a procession began from the T. Shevchenko Park, along Volodymyrska Street – B. Khmelnytsky Street – Khreshchatyk Street – to the Alley of Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred, where flowers will be laid in memory of the dead.
The initiator of the action – student trade unions that are members of the all-Ukrainian branch trade unions, the Youth Council of the FPU.
The goal – drawing public attention to the spread of the shameful policy of a continuous attack on the rights of young people, in particular the right to affordable education, scholarship provision, provision of dormitories, healthcare, social protection and targeted narrowing of the scope of existing socio-economic guarantees for young students and students of vocational and technical educational institutions.
Student trade union organizations have repeatedly expressed their protest against the reduction of social guarantees and oppression of the rights of young students.
We went to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for:
- Scholarships in the amount of the subsistence minimum in accordance with the Law of Ukraine «On Higher Education».
- Payment of the indexation of the scholarship in full at the expense of the State Budget of Ukraine.
- Preferential travel for students in urban, suburban and intercity transport.
- Rehabilitation of students in sanatoriums-dispensaries.
- Development by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of a mechanism for providing benefits to students who are participants in hostilities and internally displaced persons, students whose parents died in the ATO zone.
- Financing of higher educational institutions in the required amount. Allocation of appropriate funds from the State Budget to higher education institutions to pay for utility services.
- Spending of own funds of higher education institutions on the development of material, technical and scientific base.
- State programs «Student Dormitory», «Student Health», «Student Internship at Modern High-Tech Enterprises».
The rally was held against:
- Corruption in higher education institutions.
- Commercialization of higher education.
- Narrowing and abolition of legally established social benefits and guarantees.
- Shifting state obligations to higher education institutions institutions.
- Government interference in the statutory activities of public organizations and student unions (Bill No. 3474).
By all possible means, young people strive to ensure that students do not find themselves outside the border! Fortunately, our attempts are bearing fruit: the demands of the participants in the action were officially transferred to the secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for further processing and taking appropriate measures.
Press service of the trade union committee of students of ZNTU
