Music School pupils protest to Mayor about their problems

Corfu Music School Parents and Guardians Association held a protest demonstration as part of the nationwide mobilisation organised by the Nationwide Coordinating Committee of Students of Music and Arts Schools and PEGMKS (Panhellenic Union of Music and Arts School Parents’ Associations). Pupils from the Corfu Music School also participated in the protest, which took place on Tuesday morning, January 21, outside the Central Corfu Town Hall.

As stated in their announcement, the issues include:

• Infrastructure and equipment problems.
• Teacher shortages (it should be noted that even now, our school lacks an arts teacher).
• Inadequate school transportation (let us not forget last year’s unacceptable situation with school transportation in our region).
• Insufficient maintenance of musical instruments, forcing parents to bear the costs of repairs.
• Significant financial burden on parents to cover the costs of pupil trips, especially cultural trips, where our students showcase their region to the outside world.

The Association, along with the pupils, is demanding:

1. Mass recruitment of teachers in all specialities (general education, music and arts) to ensure all vacancies are filled from the first day of school.
2. Public and free school transportation, so that pupil travel is not dependent on private contractors, avoiding the recurring issues each year.
3. Instrument maintenance funded by the local municipal authority, eliminating the need for parents to bear the financial burden.
4. School trips, particularly those with a musical and artistic focus, should be fully funded by the state (via the Ionian Islands Regional Authority) to prevent excessive financial strain on parents.
5. Certification of studies for pupils of music schools and recognition of their professional rights.
6. Development of new music textbooks and their free provision to pupils.

ELENI KORONAKI