Gute Vorsätze

Pünktlich zum neuen Jahr ist mein Artikel nun endlich online erschienen und unter Journal Europa nachzulesen, für alle die französisch können. Ich bin stolz und wieder motiviert weiterzumachen. Neben diesem sind mir noch keine weiteren guten Vorsätze fürs neue Jahr eingefallen. Hendrik für seinen Teil hat beschlossen hier in Spanien keine Schoki mehr zu kaufen (was nicht heißt dass der die mit beiden mitgebrachten Koffer nicht aufessen will;-).
Euch allen wünsche ich einen flutschigen Rutsch und alles Gute und Gesundheit fürs Jahr 2009, darauf, dass wir wenigstens einen unserer Vorsätze einhalten;-)
Feliz Ano 2009!!!!!
NadineyHendrik

Für alle die nicht französisch können, hier meine originalversion:
Bolonia-more than a beautiful Italian city

“What are you doing here? Class is not taking place. Go outside and protest!”, this is what a fellow Erasmus-student was told by a teacher at the political faculty on November 13^th, the day on which all faculties in Madrid decided to team up to go on strike together. Since then, at the latest, 'no a bolonia' is the slogan in all students heads. 'Bolonia' is actually only the place where the declaration of the Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES), was signed in 1999 by 29 countries with the objective to homogenize titels to Bachelor, Master and PhD in the whole European Union. The goal was to enhance the mobility for students and teachers, because titles of graduation would be clear in the EU and students could take up work in any of the participating countries, when the system would be compatible. This is the case because the grading system would be comparable, being expressed in credits, ECTS, which are not only given for the time spent in class, but also for the work students perform beyond teaching hours. These goals were set to be achieved by 2010.

The problem is that EEES or 'Bolonia', as it is mistakenly called, has become associated with the plans of the Spanish government, which decided to cut down on the variety of courses, shorten the study period from five to four years and demands more money for a master study.

To show their disagreement with these plans, the students at each faculty have been locking themselves in the faculties regularly and stay overnight. During this time they work their way through the reform, create signs to call out a strike and write information pamphlets. They have to figure all this out by themselves, since the Spanish government did not provide answers in time and kept too silent on this topic. The information which the students acquire during these meetings are used to inform other students about what the basic changes are and why they protest against the reform, with the goal to mobilize more students. The student's major complaints are that they will have to work 25 hours for each ECTS they obtain and that they will have to pay to enroll in the fourth year in which they will be doing an internship. As Sermo Manzano, student of the media faculty explains: ”We will have to pay to be able to work, so the faculty and the companies will gain, but we suffer twice!”. Also the students complain that the master's programm is not affordable for everyone because the costs per credit rise from 9,90€ now to 25,85€ with the new programm. Students can receive a loan from the state to pay for the education, but they will have to pay back all the money as soon as they start working. So they feel as if they are hypothecated, and therefore the students rage that this will privatize education, and will provoke a social division, although education should be a basic right, available to everyone, as they explain. They feel that it is little to no comfort that the state will abate the debts if they do not find a job related to their studies five years after graduation. The protesting students do see the benefits of EEES, like facilitation of studying or working abroad, but they believe that the side-effects, caused by the changes which the Spanish government plans to enforce, outweigh.

For me, as I am an Erasmus student, I appreciate the EEES process, which would have facilitated my studies here a lot, and I believe that the alterations of the Spanish reforms will not be as severe as the students here believe. I am already enrolled in a Bachelor program in the Netherlands and I pay study fees, for which I am given a loan, which I will have to pay back. But in contrast to most of the Spanish students here, I do not expect the state to pay for all of my education, but I am willing to pay back what I received. Maybe the attitude will change here as well as soon as the system is running.

By Nadine Schwarz