For 24 hours, the Peruvian Student Federation (FEP) organized a national university strike across 16 departments of the country. “The second phase will begin when the new authorities take office, in 50 to 100 days,” said Luis Escudero, president of the FEP, which represents university students, vocational school students, and high school students.
The organization’s main demands concern the state of education, such as: a new university law with student participation and an increase in the budget allocated to public education to 6% of the Gross Domestic Product (they express concern that budget cuts will lead to poor quality in university education).
Students are also demanding expanded coverage of university dining halls and dormitories, psychological counseling services, and university daycare centers for students, faculty, and staff. Additionally, they call for the enforcement and expansion of the right to half-price university transit fares, the inclusion of 50% student representation in university governance, the promotion of automatic high school graduation for university students, and the standardization of degree programs.
The university student movement also aligns with the social demands of the population in the midst of the second round of elections, such as: demanding that the Congress of the Republic immediately approve the supplemental funding for the Bicentennial Generation Scholarships and Scholarship 18; a comprehensive gender approach in education; denouncing political persecution and intimidation against students; and the repeal of anti-forestry and pro-crime laws, among others.
