Dutch pupil strike
Encyclopedia
The Dutch 'pupil strike in 2007 was a series of strikes in which students from the Netherlands
, upset by demands from the government on its schools, ignored lessons and often went with masses to city halls in their municipalities.
The government also wanted to introduce a ninth hour, this would cause pupils to be in school as late as 4:50 PM.
The strike on Friday was generally calm, several pupils were however arrested on various charges. The strike on Monday was much wilder, with up to 21 pupils being arrested in Amsterdam alone.
.
. This turned out to be less of a success as LAKS had hoped for, with only 15'000 of the expected twenty- to fifty-thousands strikers turning up.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, upset by demands from the government on its schools, ignored lessons and often went with masses to city halls in their municipalities.
Motivation
The pupil strike was motivated by the demands of the state on schools to fill up the demanded 1040 clock hours they have to legally teach each year. The state wanted schools to fill these up with extra hours in which pupils were to be in the class with a teacher without getting actual lessons. Pupils state this does not increase the quality of education.The government also wanted to introduce a ninth hour, this would cause pupils to be in school as late as 4:50 PM.
First Strike
As an effect of these policies organizations like DWARS and LAKS called for a strike on Friday November 23. This call was done via Instant Messaging. Pupils throughout the nation joined in the strike and started ignoring lessons that day starting from 11:00 AM. A second strike was called for on Monday November 26 and yet again many pupils participated.The strike on Friday was generally calm, several pupils were however arrested on various charges. The strike on Monday was much wilder, with up to 21 pupils being arrested in Amsterdam alone.
Effect
Secretary of State Van Bijsterveldt has made some concessions, easing the demands on the 1040 hour demand by cutting 40 hours of. Also a debate had been called and on Wednesday 28th of November, but the decision around the 1040-hour demand remained.Size of the strike
The pupil strike was a sizeable strike with thousands of pupils skipping their classes, the size of the strike could be attributed to the use of Instant Messaging software like MSNMSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
.
Second Strike
Disgruntled with the lack of action by the Dutch state another strike was called for, this time to be held in AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. This turned out to be less of a success as LAKS had hoped for, with only 15'000 of the expected twenty- to fifty-thousands strikers turning up.
External links
- Landelijk Actie Komité Scholieren (LAKS, National Pupil Action Committee)