translated from Spanish: “Keyboard stop”: U students from Chile will not connect to online classes

This afternoon the president of the Federation of Students of the University of Chile, Emilia Schneider confirmed that the students of the study house agreed by an online vote, to paralyze student activities, avoiding connecting to the classes virtual and academic activities. According to the student leader, “there was broad participation and the substantive majority of students approve of the mobilization.” In this way, unemployment will remain for a week, at which point it will be voted back. Among the reasons that led to unemployment is the fact that, according to students, there are young people who do not have the internet, nor with a computer to hold the online classes that were taking place. In that context, Schneider noted that “the paralysis is so that the academic year does not begin and we do not leave behind colleagues who do not have the conditions to access (classes)”. In this way, the Federation requires “to guarantee the material conditions so that all students can access these classes online, guarantee internet scholarships, scholarships to students who do not have their own computer, that today their parents have to telework and therefore do not have access to this platform.” The study house had already handed out an internet scholarship to students in need, which consisted of granting a cell phone chip with a connection for six months, something to which the Federation responded by stressing that “there is still no guarantee, for example , for students who do not have their own computer.” Another requirement of the FECh is the freezing of enrolments and a substantive reduction of tariffs, this, through a “subsidy or an emergency fund” for public universities, which should come from Mineduc. In this regard, Schneider explained that “families cannot bear the costs of this crisis, but it cannot mean that institutions are precarious, and that implies that the Ministry of Education has to take matters into account. This is a very serious health crisis and now is the time to invest emergency funds.” While referring to how unemployment will be performed, he commented that “it is a stoppad of keyboards, where we will not attend teaching activities, and also a symbolic adherence to these demands”. In addition, he mentioned that discussions were already under way with the establishment authorities to discuss the required points, taking advantage of the instance to invite Mineduc to the discussion.

Original source in Spanish