Hunger striker protesting college closure hospitalized with exhaustion

One three people who went on hunger strike in the town of Messolonghi in western Greece last week to protest the Education Ministry’s plans to abolish the local technical college was hospitalized on Monday after displaying signs of exhaustion.

The hunger striker, Professor Fotis Tsifopanopoulos, was reportedly recovering on Tuesday after refusing to take any food for one week.

He was joined on his hunger strike by Messolonghi Mayor Panayiotis Katsoulis and an administrator at the Messolonghi Technical College, Iota Moutsiou, who said that they will continue their action.

The three protesters are resisting the planned closure of the Messolonghi Technical College, which is a major source of employment and income in the region, as part of a scheme, dubbed Athena, that is aimed at streamlining the country’s tertiary education system by reducing the numbers of technical colleges, universities and university departments operating all over Greece.

Source: ekathimerini.com