Friday, 10. February 2012

:: Home > General News > Minister rejects forced student eviction

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
30	31	1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	1	2	3	4

Add your event FREE

Today

Polls

27. 10. 09. - 14:00

Minister rejects forced student eviction

By Lisa Chapman

People�s Party (�VP) Science Minister Johannes Hahn said today (Tues) he was against the forced eviction of students occupying a Vienna University hall.

Hahn said before today�s weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers that he could understand why students were protesting over conditions at Austrian universities.

He said he wanted to talk with student representatives and was ready to set a date for a meeting with them to discuss student fees, access to institutions of higher education and other issues of importance to them.

Around 500 students have been occupying Audimax hall at Vienna University since last Thursday in protest against over-crowding and under-financing of the institution.

When they heard last night that Vienna police were allegedly planning to evict them at 5am today, they publicised the news on the internet and called on supporters to show up at the university early this morning.

Students at Salzburg University are also planning protests against "the science ministry�s unacceptable educational policy," according to the student association there.

It said a demonstration in front of the house of social sciences was planned for 3pm tomorrow.

Tatjana Markl from the association said: "The science ministry�s policy has long been to starve Austrian universities financially. The massive consequences of chronic under-financing should be made pretexts for student fees and less access to higher education."

Svjetlana Vulin from the association added the ministry�s policy had to be strongly rejected.

It was announced today that Hahn would be Austria�s next EU commissioner. Since his term will begin on 1 November, it is unclear whether he will remain involved in talks with protesting students.

Austrian Times

Your comment to this article :

(will be approved by an editor before going online)

your name
your location
your message
Not for publication:
your mail
How many vertical lines or which Text (from left to right) do you see in this image:
input for security check

Tag cloud:
Minister meeting ministry Austrian Hahn protesting eviction University student access occupying Science Vienna universities financing hall fees education institutions police

Latest News

Set up tax on financial transactions soon, says Katzian
The head of the Association of Private Employees (GPA-djp) has called for a quick introduction of a tax on financial transactions.

P�hringer rejects U-turn on rightist ball
Young Social Democrats (SP�) have appealed to Upper Austrian Governor Josef P�hringer not to attend the Burschenbundball in Linz this Saturday.

FP� under fire after trip to Grozny
The Freedom Party (FP�) has been harshly criticised for meeting with Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

WKO boss wants pension age hike incentives
Federal Economy Chamber (WKO) President Christoph Leitl has identified attempts to raise the average retirement age as the key issue regarding Austria�s budget.

Woman and child run over in Vienna
A woman and child have died in a road accident in Vienna, Austria. The lorry driver was making a right turn when he drove into a group of pedestrians leaving a 59-year-old and a 12-year-old dead. The mother of the school girl was left with serious injuries.

Schlecker says Austrian jobs are safe
The son of Schlecker founder Anton Schlecker has claimed that the company has no plans to sell its Austrian affiliate.

SP� sees smaller parliament as key signal
The general secretary of the Social Democrats (SP�) has argued his support for a reduction of the size of the parliament.

Austrian food to feature in organic trade fair
Austria is expected to be well represented at next week�s BioFach 2012 international organic trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany. Some 90 companies and organisations from the Austrian organic good sector will feature at the fair from 15 to 18 February.

Brothel for the homeless in Vienna
Homeless people are queueing up for free rooms in an Austrian brothel after owner Peter Laskaris said it would be unfair not to do everything he could during the current cold spell.

Deep-freeze snacks for orangutans in Sch�nbrunn
The lucky orangutans who take up residence in Europe�s oldest zoo have been indulging in a twice weekly take-away. Despite the trees in Sch�nbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria now being completely bare the fury friends have fresh branches and leaves delivered twice a week.