Rat emergency: Students revolt in Cagliari, protests and strikes

Eight schools have been closed since the start of the school year due to the presence of rats, with photos showing excrement on desks, floors, and bathrooms. And students are on strike, skipping classes to demand clean school environments.

These are the reasons why students from several high schools in Cagliari and the surrounding area have protested. The most critical situations are in schools near the Terramaini canal, which runs through Pirri, Monserrato, and Cagliari: the Buccari Institute in Piazza dei Centomila and the Ciusa school have been closed. Yesterday, students from the Martini school ( closed today by Mayor Zedda ), right across from Terramaini park, went on strike. Today, students from the Gramsci Hotel Management Institute and the Meucci school in Monserrato are protesting.

"We've been experiencing a constant problem that has persisted since the first day of school, both inside and outside the school: the constant presence of rats," explains a student. "Despite the presence of videos and reports, nothing has yet been done to protect the students."

The same situation is occurring at the Dionigi Scano Institute and the Foiso Fois High School : "Today we went on a work-to-rule strike because of the dead and live rats we find in the toilets and outside in the schoolyard. Every day we're spending most of our time in facilities in unacceptable conditions. We need more specific disinfestations because otherwise we can't take it anymore."

It's not just rats. "We've been without water in the bathrooms for two days," they report from the Eleonora d'Arborea branch, "and for several hours we were forced to stay at school without being able to use them."