Edinburgh SSU

Edinburgh
School Students Union – Programme

(1)
We demand that no school should close.
All students have the right to be educated in small class sizes and fully
refurbished schools. No refurbishment from the private sector – public money
for state schools!

(2)
No to privatisation – keep business out of our education. Schools
should be run for the benefit of students, not as a profiteering venture. Return
PPP & PFI[1]
schools to public ownership, with compensation at point of need only. No to
expanding PFI schemes. Bring private schools into public ownership, and open to
all school students free of charge.

(3)
For real student democracy. Replace sham
student councils, which have no real power, with a democratic body with a real
say in how schools are run. We demand that students are consulted with and
listened to in decisions that affect them.

(4)
For a comprehensive range of educational
opportunity. This should include the opportunity for pupils to go on
relevant trips so as to enhance their learning. Certain subjects should not be
the privilege of certain schools. Schools must provide a full range of
technical, academic, physical and arts subjects, so as to give students the
best opportunity to go into a field that interests them.

(5)
We stand in solidarity with school staff
and support them in struggle and strikes. Their fight for better pay and
conditions is part of our fight for a better school. Happier teachers mean a
better learning environment.

(6)
Our view on EMA is that it should be universal, i.e. not means tested, and at a
flat rate of £40 a week for every student at full time education from the age
of 16. We feel that with textbooks, stationary and particularly past papers
costing a fair amount of money, this would make a huge difference to many school
students. We think that behaviour and grades should not affect whether a
student receives his/her allowance and neither should the occasional absence.

(7)As
school students, we must stand against
the cuts and privatisation creeping into our schools. The government and
local councils want to cut spending on education and close schools. They will
not give us the education we deserve: we must fight for it.

(8)
We have to build links with school students and youth around the UK, and
the rest of the world. We are not alone in our struggle for the improvement
of education. The ESSU has a national perspective that goes beyond the
boundaries of Edinburgh. We must endeavour to build a national union structure,
so as to effectively rebuff the attacks on our education. We stand as one with
the movement of students across the world. 

Join the ESSU and the struggle for a
better education now!