by James Turley

Indymedia reports that at least 15 cities in the Netherlands have seen school walkouts, meticulously planned over the internet.

The walkouts are to protest the introduction of a new law demanding 1040 hours of tuition a year in schools.  The students fear that the government has not made any provision on its side for these increased hours, and that lessons will simply get worse.

This may not seem like a big issue, but it has posed sharply the ridiculous state the modern school student is in.  They know very well that this initiative of the state’s is going to be against their interests, but have absolutely no say in things at all.  So, they have resorted to the only weapons they have – walkouts and strikes – in order to try and assert some control.

The idea of self-management, in school students as in other layers of the masses, has deeply rattled that state.  Today its teaching time; what tomorrow? The curriculum? The bureaucrats in charge of the education system itself? What about when they leave school?

Thus we have horrendous scenes of riot police on horses breaking up protests, and also the time-honoured water cannon in use.  Communist Students, of course, solidarises with these comrades in their struggle, and condemns the state violence which it has met.