SENEGAL: Students refuse to pay fees increase

PhD students at the Humanities and Social Sciences faculty of UCAD, the Université Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, are under pressure from the authorities because they are refusing to pay "ridiculous" increases in fees introduced last year, reported Wal Fadjri of Dakar.

The students had paid only half the FCFA150,000 (US$300) demanded, said Wal Fadjri. Now they said the managements of the doctoral schools of arts, cultural and civilisations and of human studies were persistently sending them intimidating emails.

The students told a press conference that with introduction in 2008-09 of LMD (licence-master-doctorate), the higher education and degree structure based on the Bologna process, the scientific committees of the postgraduate schools had exclusive decision-making powers without having to resort to state authorisation. This included fixing fees.

Refusal by PhD students in other faculties to pay the increases bore fruit, reported Wal Fadjri, and their fees were revised downwards. But this option was rejected by those responsible for running the humanities and social sciences faculty (FLSH).

"To our great astonishment, [the fees] of the two schools of the FLSH are FCFA150,000 and the administrative fee is FCFA5,000," said the students. All attempts to make the management revise its decision were in vain, and requests made through the university mediator led nowhere, said Wal Fadjri.

In response the students protested and boycotted the schools' activities. They paid the FCFA5,000 enrolment fee and FCFA75,000, hoping the problem would be resolved through dialogue. But the authorities had now resumed their demands for the remaining sums, which the students described as a "form of blackmail, a pressure" to which they would not give in, said Wal Fadjri.

The students said they wanted a peaceful solution and called on the management of the schools, including the rector, to open discussions to sort out the problems and save the university from further crises. They asked the state to intervene and rule on the conflict, reported Wal Fadjri.