Election ’87, Education in Crisis: Use Your Vote, Union of Students in Ireland.

To download the above please click on the following link. usi-1987.pdf

Please click here to go the Left Archive.

Many thanks to the person who forwarded this to the Archive.

This document released as a USI News Election Special in four pages under the headline Education in Crisis outlines USI policy in regard to education, and the 1987 General Election in the Republic and has the following advice:

USI are not proposing that you vote for any particular party.
However, we urge all students to ask politicians who canvass them what they Intend to do on the Issues that affect students. We suggest the following questions:

1. Will their Party fund _new colleges?
2. Will they stop the vicious fee rises of the last six years?
3. Will they provide all youth with full-time
education, a job or proper training scheme?
4. Will they increase student grants to provide a realistic standard of living for students?

And it argues that:

VOTE FOR EDUCATION
Education should be a growth area for any country trying to break out of a recession – the future depends on the availability of a highly trained young population.
Young people have a right to know specifically what each party will do. If a politician does not give the answers that you want to hear, tell him or her that they will not be getting your vote.

Inside it outlines the questions asked by USI of the various political parties and the answers received.

And it argues that:

The officer Board of USI meeting on Friday February 6th, called for further action in Dublin on the 12th, of February to coincide with the next court appearance of the USI Education Officer. USI President, Ms. Patricia Hegarty called on all students to get involved in the action. “With the General Election we must show politicians that we are serious in our actions on education issues. USI hopes that students will come to Dublin and show their solidarity with Peter. We call on all politicians to meet our demands for a fees freeze, and immediate rise in student grants and the provisions of adequate places and facilities in the colleges.