On Tuesday 18 August, supporters of FRFI in Newcastle took part in a student’s protest against the blatantly anti-working class standardised A-level and GCSE grading. Even after the government U-turn on the 17th, students refuse to be fobbed off and are still on the streets fighting back against the capitalist education system that they realise will never serve them.
The National Education Union (NEU) initially organised a rally at Grey’s Monument, for which they had lined up a long list of speakers made up entirely of trade union representatives and Labour MPs. Unimpressed and unsatisfied with having their voices unheard, students organised themselves to march from the Civic Centre to Grey’s Monument. The march was loud and energetic, everyone could participate.
At Monument, the NEU pre-organised speakers tried to stifle the movement, providing the weak argument that all would be solved by simply joining a union and kicking the Tories out – the inference being that we need to get Labour in.
However, the students soon again rallied with their sound system and allowed anyone to speak. They cheered when comrades spoke about the racism inherent in our education system and the work of the Anti-Racism Protest Defence Campaign in leading the challenge against Northumbria police attacking our democratic rights by banning anti-racist events in the city. Students cheered when we spoke about the example of socialist Cuba, whose education system is not held down by the restraints of capitalism.
Decent education for all!
