Former students try to help save two university years

Following reports on social media, alumni of Marien Ngouabi University have met student representatives to try to save the two academic years that have been affected by strikes by teaching and non-teaching staff.

The meeting took place in Brazzaville between members of Crème, the association of former students, and present students’ organisations and representatives. Strikes by university personnel have been ongoing for several months, reported Les Dépêches de Brazzaville.

The president of Crème, Parfait Iloki, said the meeting aimed to avoid wasting the 2016-17 and 2017-18 academic years, which would have harmful consequences for the university.

“The university had a lost year with all that that entailed in 1993-94. To prevent that happening again, Crème urges students to go back to their [university] to save these academic years,” he said.

The present-day students raised issues including non-payment of grants for nine months; late payments for École nationale supérieure et polytechnique students on work placements; their integration into the civil service; access to internships; dilapidated campuses; the situation of local students in receipt of state grants; and the effectiveness of Crème in dealings with the relevant authorities.

Iloki told the students that Crème would be involved in all the student associations’ dealings with the authorities.

Gracia Lendanga, president of the Mouvement des Élèves et Étudiants du Congo, said Crème had agreed to meet the relevant authorities soon to find solutions to all the problems with a view to saving the two academic years.

This article is drawn from local media. University World News cannot vouch for the accuracy of the original reports.