| 
University show in Italy
Homeless
researchers, draconian reform and the old fool president
Italy pays a significant delay because
rewards little investment in schools and in universities. Students protest against
the cuts of the 'Law 133' reform and a former Italian president of the Republic
suggests to hit 'em all
By MARCO RICIPUTI
from
Ravenna, ITALY
 To
enhance the human capital needed to reward merit, that is stimulated by incentives,
both monetary and non-economic. The link between incentives and results is particularly
relevant in the context of human capital but currently the Italian university
does not promote the merits. The funds for research and high education are modest.
In 2009, for the first time, no new researcher will be hired at in any university.
They have to emigrate or being 'homeless' in Italy.
The percentage of
teachers and students is negligible. Mobility between venues is poor, even at
the level of recruitment of graduate students. The goal agreed by EU in Lisbon
linking Italy by 2010 to reach 3% of gross domestic product devoted to research.
Italy is still 1% with half of researchers and teachers of the average of European
countries, 2.7 against 5.1 per thousand inhabitants.
The existing research
programs have not allowed the more dynamic research teams to emerge and compete
successfully at international level. Often the academic hierarchy does not correspond
to the merit, but it perpetuates positions of privilege.
What is striking
is that negatively, in addition to the low internationalization of our research
system - that is a little influx of researchers from abroad - is the low public
investment on young people with innovative ideas, both for regarding wages, and
both as regards the allocation of funds under their direct responsibility.
Law 133, Gelmini's reform
The indiscriminate cutting of funds
and block of the turn-over provided by law 133 does not address any of these problems.
The Minister of University and Research Gelmini back a draconian reform
that strikes indiscriminately University. The right to the sinner, the surplus
in disciplines such as strategic excellence. Cut the exact sciences as the humanities.
The brightest young but not old barons. The goal openly declared, "we must cut",
bringing the public University to paralysis and preparing the ground for major
reform of privatization which is black and white in the same 133.
If Italy
wanted to follow the European average (already back in the U.S. and Asia), the
university should be structured of 117,000 people. Instead the staff is structured
by just 62,000 units and due the Law 133 will fall in 2012 to 54,000. And since
the reform is particularly vexatious to the young, the average age of the staff
will be 55 years, compared with 41 of Spain and 42 in Great Britain.
The
fact is that universities can choose whether to remain public and languish as
post-schools of poor quality, or privatize becoming Foundations. It will thus
be free from the constitutional right to education and finance with private investment
as well as fees 'in American style', 10 or 20,000 Euros per year.
Which
future for the public universities can be seen through a standard crystal ball:
no funds or facilities, with a staff aged, which no time for more research because
of the teaching, with salaries that do not recover even inflation and without
any possibility of career for teachers and students. These, without legal force
of the qualification will in fact graduates of series B.
Student rallies,
hit 'em all!
Uni-students are protesting against the 'Law 133'. Several
universities as well secondary school - the reform touch the whole Italian school
system but I don't have enough space to explain it, let's say that the protest
is from the primary, to the post university universe - are occupied and there
has been rallies in Rome, Palermo, Salerno and Napoli.
But the student
movement is not a whole block. There are division between 'right' and 'left' associations.
People from right say that stopping the lessons is against the right to study
and protesting 'toe to toe' with the professors - accused to be the 'landlords'
of the feudalistic Italian uni-system - is totally a non-sense.
There
has been fight in Rome with people injured and stopped by the police. A sort of
de javu of the '68 youth protest for many analysts. The government announced the
strong line against who stop the lessons and the opposition reply calling a referendum
on the reform.
Above all shines Francesco Cossiga, senior senator and
formerly President of the Republic who reminds us that the Brigate Rosse, a bloody
revolutionary communist movement, was born in the setting of the '68 student movement.
He suggests to the policy to have "no mercy towards the protesters" and hopefully
after that "the sound of the ambulance horns will overwhelm the police one". For
Cossiga this is the perfect 'democratic solution' to the problem and in his endless
pity older people and underage students shall be saved - it will be a scandal
for the public opinion.
Cartoon: Kossi Fan Tutti
http://www.kanjano.org
Author: Kanjano, Italian cartoonist who collaborates with EMME, the only Italian
satirical journal
(Published: 15.11.2008.)
| |
