Last week demonstrated the political power of sustained student organising, from Serbia’s election to demands for democratic representation at an Indian university. Students also mobilised over climate inaction, unaffordable education and deteriorating public services.
Last week in brief
- A student-backed electoral list won Serbia’s parliamentary election after almost two years of student-led anti-corruption mobilisation.
- Indonesian students protested the government’s response to Southeast Asia’s worst haze crisis in more than a decade.
- Greek students and teachers demanded greater public investment, affordable housing and improved learning conditions.
- Protests over education, employment and corruption continued in Albania, while France faced further mass demonstrations and arrests.
- Jamia Millia Islamia University in India moved teaching online amid a hunger strike demanding the restoration of its students’ union.
- UNESCO adopted a youth-drafted appeal calling for meaningful youth representation in political decision-making.
- The US Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could affect how schools pursue racial and socioeconomic inclusion.
Key developments
Serbia: student movement achieves historic electoral victory
A student-backed list won Serbia’s parliamentary election on 25 October, prompting President Aleksandar Vučić to concede defeat after more than a decade at the centre of government. Tens of thousands gathered in Belgrade to celebrate.
The result follows almost two years of largely peaceful student-led mobilisation demanding accountability, democratic reform and action against corruption. The movement grew after the November 2024 collapse of a railway-station awning in Novi Sad killed 16 people. The victorious list included 250 student-backed candidates drawn from different parts of society. Read the Reuters report.
Our take: Serbia shows that sustained student organising can reshape national politics. The movement’s next challenge is to translate demands for transparency and accountable institutions into lasting reforms while preserving independent student organisations and civic space. Electoral success should strengthen, not replace, students’ direct participation in decisions affecting them.
Southeast Asia: students demand action on hazardous haze
Thousands of Indonesian students protested the authorities’ response to severe haze caused largely by forest and peatland fires. More than 500 students demonstrated in Palangkaraya on 23 October, demanding that the government declare a national emergency and hold responsible companies accountable.
Indonesia’s Health Ministry has recorded more than 333,000 cases of acute respiratory illness across seven affected provinces since August. Smoke has also affected neighbouring countries, contributing to school closures in Timor-Leste and worsening air quality in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. Read the AP report.
Our take: Students are right to frame the haze as an accountability and climate-justice issue, not only a seasonal inconvenience. Governments must protect learners’ health, maintain safe education during closures and confront the commercial practices driving repeated fires.
Europe: education, housing and public services drive mobilisation
Approximately 10,000 students, teachers and public-sector workers demonstrated peacefully in Athens on 21 October, with further rallies across Greece. Their demands included greater education funding, less crowded classrooms, improved facilities, more staff and relief from unaffordable housing and living costs. Read the Reuters report.
Student-led unrest also continued in Albania, where police deployed tear gas and water cannons amid confrontations in Tirana. Protesters have raised concerns about education standards, tuition, employment and corruption, although demonstrations have also included serious violence and property damage. In France, education grievances remained part of wider mass protests over living costs and public services.
Our take: Governments must distinguish peaceful student organising from individual acts of violence and avoid collective punishment. Across these movements, students are raising connected concerns about education quality, housing and the affordability of everyday life. Responses should combine protection of civic freedoms with structured negotiations involving representative student organisations.
India: hunger strike demands restoration of Jamia students’ union
Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi moved all teaching online on 24 October as a student protest demanding union elections entered its thirteenth day. Five students had joined an indefinite hunger strike, while tensions increased following a meeting between protesters and university officials.
The students’ union was dissolved approximately two decades ago. Protesters are seeking restored elections, withdrawal of disciplinary measures and changes to campus governance. The university said online teaching was necessary for safety and established a committee to consider the demands, but students said this did not provide a firm election date. Read the Indian Express report.
Our take: Students need an independent, democratically elected body through which they can raise concerns and participate in university governance. Moving classes online may preserve teaching temporarily, but it cannot resolve a representation dispute. The university should negotiate transparently, protect peaceful participants and establish a credible route to elections.
UNESCO: youth call for representation in public decision-making
UNESCO adopted an appeal drafted by 145 young representatives from 135 countries calling for youth participation in political decision-making, conflict prevention and peacebuilding. It also proposes public mechanisms for monitoring implementation and an international framework addressing artificial intelligence’s potential effects on peace.
The initiative received public support from France’s foreign minister on 20 October, as student-led protests continued to demonstrate young people’s frustration with their limited influence over public decisions. Read the report.
Our take: Participation cannot be measured by the number of young people invited to a forum. Governments and international organisations need permanent seats for representative student organisations, published responses to their recommendations and transparent evidence showing how participation affected decisions.
United States: Supreme Court takes school-admissions case
The US Supreme Court agreed on 19 October to hear a challenge to admissions policies for four selective public middle-school programmes in Maryland. The race-neutral system assesses academic potential and uses a lottery, with applicants compared partly against peers from schools serving similar-income communities.
The challengers argue that the policy intentionally disadvantages Asian American students. Lower courts rejected the case, finding neither discriminatory intent nor disproportionate harm. The Supreme Court has not ruled on the merits; its eventual decision could influence how schools nationwide design inclusive admissions systems. Read the Reuters report.
Our take: Admissions systems must be transparent, evidence-based and fair to every applicant while addressing structural inequality. Students and affected communities should be heard before policies are redesigned, and the case should not be misrepresented as a decision already reached.
This week: 26 October–1 November
- 26–27 October — Media and information literacy meeting: UNESCO’s Global Media and Information Literacy Week includes a conference in New Delhi focused on formal education. Its relevance is growing as students encounter AI-generated material, disinformation and increasingly complex digital environments. See UNESCO’s programme.
- 27 October — Global Student Forum pre-COP dialogue: GSF and the All-Africa Students Union will connect students affected by climate change with representatives preparing to attend COP31. The online discussion will run from 15:00 to 16:00 CET. Read about the event.
- 28–29 October — Youth consultations in Tokyo: Young participants will develop proposals for the post-2030 education agenda, building on contributions gathered from more than 200,000 young people. Attention should focus on how their recommendations enter formal negotiations. GSF will be represented at the event. Read UNESCO’s announcement.
- 31 October — Further demonstrations planned in France: Protest organisations and trade unions have called for new rallies over education, wages, public services and living costs. Authorities’ policing approach and the treatment of school and university students will require close scrutiny. Read the Reuters report.
What we are watching
- Serbia’s democratic transition and the continuing independence of its student movement.
- Government responses to the Southeast Asian haze and education disruption.
- Whether Jamia establishes a credible timetable for student-union elections.
- Protection of peaceful protesters in France, Albania and other European countries.
- Whether post-2030 consultations give students influence rather than symbolic visibility.
Are important developments affecting students taking place in your country? Students, student organisations and education communities are invited to send them to the Global Student Forum for possible inclusion in a future edition of World Student News.
