Press Office of the CC of KNE:The “leave it to chance” mentality was defeated at Grava! School students, parents and teachers HAVE WON!

Since 16 September, more than 4,000 school students and almost 500 teachers at the country's largest school complex, comprizing 17 schools and vocational training institutions, have been left exposed to dangerous conditions due to a natural gas leak.

The Ministry of Education, the Region of Attica and the Municipalities of Athens and Galatsi KNEW AND DID NOTHING! Their statements full of lies and attempts to lull people into complacency, as well as their plan to cover up the problem and their responsibilities, collapsed with the eventual decision to suspend the operation of the schools at Grava.

After all, experience has shown that “In the system of profit, survival is a matter of luck — WE are the ones who will give our lives the value they deserve!” The organized and determined struggle of the entire school community has achieved an initial victory.

Now is the time to fight to ensure that the Grava school complex reopens safely, with all the necessary repairs completed. They must not even think of forcing school students to choose between putting their safety at risk and freezing in their classrooms because of the unsuitable heating installation. No school student who fought for something as basic as safety should be penalised with absences.

There is only one solution: all the responsible authorities must immediately inspect the facilities, rectify any problems identified and officially inform the entire school community. A whole week of lessons has already been lost and disruption caused through their own responsibility.

Now is the time to organize the struggle in every school and demand that there be no new “Tempi” tragedies in our schools. If they have gambled with the safety of thousands of school students in the centre of Athens, what might be happening in dilapidated school buildings across the country? The events of just one week provide the answer: four upper secondary school students in Lamia and one lower secondary school student in Thessaloniki were taken to hospital after parts of the ceiling fell on their heads during lessons; a suspended ceiling collapsed in Korydallos; and windows at another school were blown out by the wind.

Together with KNE, a force for truth, the organization of struggle, boldness and revolutionary change, school students can make their voices heard more loudly in the fight for safe, modern schools that provide knowledge rather than despair. To pave the way for the school we need and the society that will make it a reality.