French University Student Strike
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Posted by Naomi Rockler-Gladen Nov 26, 2007 |
Here's a thought-provoking international issue relating to college students. In France, college student shave been protesting and striking proposed changes to their university system. Read about the conflict here:
So what's the problem? The privatization of universities. Previously, state universities in France have been exclusively public. They haven't been able to receive outside funding from corporations and outside sources. they also had to follow strict government regulations about issues such as tuition hikes.
Now, as part of President Sarkozy's new reforms, state-run universities have become privatized. This means they will be able to receive donations from outside organizations and can make their own rules about issues such as tuition hikes. Proponents of the system argue this change will make French universities and students more competitive and bring more money into the system. Opponents argue that outside money will taint the quality of education and make education less universally accessible to French students.
What's fascinating to me about this debate is that it's so far removed from what's going on in the United States. Here, "state" universities have become so heavily influenced by private interests that we don't even notice anymore. Corporations pump money into research projects all the time. When i taught on year at a business school, the rooms themselves in the building were named after companies that had donated money! Most students never consider the implications and the possible conflicts of interest of outside interests having a say in our education.
And the concept that by controlling tuition costs, we could keep educational universally affordable? We're so far removed from that idea that it sounds Utopia.
Hopefully the French strikes will spark some debates in U.S. college classrooms. By looking outside of ourselves at a system that's so different, perhaps we can better critique our own educational problems.