Students resist government’s plan to reopen universities

A Tunisian students’ union has raised concerns about the government’s plans for the gradual reopening of universities in the wake of lengthy coronavirus closures, calling for alternative measures.

In a statement on 5 May, the General Union of Tunisian Students (UGET) rejected the plan announced on 29 April by Tunisian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Slim Choura in terms of which public and private academic institutions would reopen on 1 June, while faculties of medicine, pharmacy and dentistry would open on 11 May.

The reopening affects approximately 216,000 students.

The minister said entry examinations to engineering and veterinary medicine schools as well as preparatory courses in biology would take place in July, while entry examinations for accounting university orientation and entry into engineering training would take place in September.

In terms of the plan, students living more than 30 kilometres from their educational institution would be prioritised to receive on-campus accommodation.

The minister indicated that the exam schedules would vary from one faculty to another, but would take place before the end of July, with August being reserved for the vacation. The new academic year would start in October.

The UGET statement described the minister's plan as “improvised and ill-considered” and criticised the fact that student organisations and the general syndicate for higher education and scientific research employees (UGTT or Syndicat Général des Fonctionnaires de L’Enseignement Sup), which is affiliated with the Tunisian General Labour Union, were not consulted in the plan’s design, despite them being “the backbone of the university and the main component of the university family”.

“The decision to resume the academic year on 1 June should not be a final decision because it depends on the health situation of the country,” the UGET statement said.

The union said the decision to resume the academic year “for all university levels in the same period” was a “risk to the safety of students” and raised a number of problems related to university services, especially housing.

“Talking about returning in cohorts and allocating three weeks for each cohort to complete the university year cannot be accepted because the specified period is not enough to complete lessons, review and [take] exams,” it said.

Instead, UGET proposed that final-year students return on 1 June while the remaining students return on 1 September.

UGET also called for the provision of accommodation in university dormitories for all students returning in June.

In addition to calling for the establishment of a national committee including representation by students to supervise preventative measures in institutions, UGET launched a referendum on 7 May asking students to choose between a reopening on 1 June or 1 September.