Survey finds limited support for sit-ins

Only 16.2% of second and third-year senior high school students support sit-in demonstrations as a means of expressing disagreement with school management, according to a survey on youth and democracy conducted by the National Center for Social Research (EKKE) for the Education Ministry’s General Secretariat for Vocational Education, Training, Lifelong Learning and Youth.

“The overall trend of responses suggests that the intense focus on nationwide exams [for university entry] may be dissuading candidates from considering involvement in sit-ins,” noted EKKE researcher Manina Kakepaki.

The survey, spanning two years and involving 4,818 pupils across 122 schools, placed significant emphasis on the role of student councils. The findings reveal that these councils are predominantly focused on organizing school trips (69.6%) and parties (55.8%). Additionally, 37.5% of students expressed a desire for their student councils to improve teaching methods, 31.1% to upgrade their school’s cleanliness and aesthetics, 30.8% to tackle incidents of school bullying, and 29.3% to address racist behavior. Furthermore, 28.7% believe student councils should provide assistance to students in need.

Meanwhile, 30% of students expressed worries about gender inequality in the selection of student council representatives.