Occupation Nijmegen University ended same day by police – 21/3/11, Academie van de Vooruitgang
The occupation of the Erasmus building of the Radboud University Nijmegen ended the same day it started. After students occupied the building in the morning of Monday 11th of March, announced their demands, published an alternative programme as part of the “Academie van de Vooruitgang” (Academy of Progress) and invited the University board to negotiate, the board sent the police to end the occupation. Two students who refused to leave were arrested. The occupiers demands included enough teachers despite budget cuts and more co-determination for students in the University governing.

Egypt reforms universities – 6/3/11 University World News
Less than a month after long-standing president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising, Egypt’s higher education authorities have taken steps towards a long-sought-after independence for public universities. State police is leaving the campuses, and new student union elections will be held within months. Students against the Mubarak regime said that recent students’ union elections had been rigged in favour of the students loyal to the police and the formerly ruling National Democratic Party. Removing the campus police has drawn applause: “[the police] often kept a close eye on students and their political activities. Their removal is a step in the right direction,” said Medhat Tharwat, a medical student at Cairo University.

PhD’s award University Associations chairman ‘Mubarak-prize’ – 16/3/11 promovendus.org
A group of PhD’s awarded the chairman of the VSNU (Association of Universities in the Netherlands) Sijbolt Noorda a ‘Mubarak-prize’, praising him for “pursuing his own course, even without support among university employees.” The plan of Sijbolt Noorda to adopt a ‘bursalenstelsel’ in the Netherlands, which will degrade PhD’s from university employees to the status of students, will have disastrous effects on the quality of Dutch Universities, according to the protesting PhD’s. A petition against the ‘bursalenstelsel’ collected 700 signatures in a short time.

Students and workers across US protest Wisconsins Anti-Union bill – 18/3/11 Huffington Post, LA Times
Weeks of massive protests in Wisconsin weren’t able to stop Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker’s ‘anti-union bill’ which ended the right of collective bargaining for public employees, like workers in education. Resistance against the anti-union law culminated in February into an 18-day occupation by students and workers of the State Capitol. The same day the bill was signed into law on March 11th, students across the US participated in a massive walkout in protest against the bill. The outcome remains unclear as large protests followed the adoption of the bill and a judge temporarily blocked the ‘union-busting’ bill on March 18th.

Amsterdam sees birth of 2 new student organisations – 4/3/11 kritischestudenten.nl
In Amsterdam two new student organisations were founded in 2011: Professor Protest, a network of student activists, and Ons Kritisch Alternatief, a student union of the UvA which prioritizes knowledge and personal development above efficiency.

Amsterdam High School students call for national strike – 8/3/11 RTL Nieuws
Four Amsterdam high school students called out for a national strike of high school students against too many hours of class and too little time for homework and social life.