Greek students and teachers join forces in protest marches

Thousands of students and teachers marched across Greece on Thursday as protesters warned that the cost of moving away to study is forcing some young people to give up their university places.

Valeria Xydea, who represents mechanical engineering students at the National Technical University of Athens, said hundreds of students in Ioannina and Patras had been unable to enrol because they couldn't afford the rent.

"For a tiny apartment, you're paying half a monthly salary or even more," she said. "You simply can't make ends meet."

In central Athens, protesters called for more public funding for education. For students who move away from home, rent comes on top of bills their families are already struggling to cover.

"We're talking about a situation that's reaching boiling point," said student protester Apostolos Afendras. "We're talking about students who, along with their families, have to dig deep into their pockets just to afford an education. This situation simply cannot continue."

The march also brought together students opposing university expulsion rules and teachers calling for more staff and better-maintained school buildings. Protesters want the government to halt planned exam changes. 

They also oppose allowing private universities to award degrees, arguing that this could undermine the value of qualifications from state universities.

The government says allowing private universities to offer degrees could give students more choice. It says a major investment programme in education is already under way and that subsidies are helping households meet rising costs.

Student groups say they plan to keep marching. One young woman in Athens, asked what she would say to students protesting elsewhere in Europe, put it this way: 

"There is no other option but to take to the streets. They're taking away our future, the future of young people, right before our eyes."