Student shot dead in protest over non-payment of grants

Calm returned to the University of Toliara in Madagascar this week as payment of overdue student grants began, following another violent confrontation between demonstrators and police during which one student died and others were wounded.

The violence erupted during the latest in a series of student protests against non-payment of the grants, but members of the government claimed ‘political infiltrators’ were responsible for the disruption.

Striking students had been demonstrating in the streets of Toliara, the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, demanding that their grants be paid.

After a police barricade was erected to prevent them from leaving the university’s Maninday campus, the protesters threw stones at the police, who responded with gunfire, during which a student was shot and died on the way to hospital, while others were injured climbing walls or falling as they fled, reported L’Express de Madagascar.

During the six-hour confrontation, angry students set fire to a teacher’s residence, according to the paper.

Following the violence, members of the government claimed political infiltrators were responsible for deliberate destabilisation.

Lalatiana Rakotondrazafy Andriatongarivo, the minister for communications and culture and government spokeswoman, said in a radio broadcast: “We are tempted to say that malevolent political influences have been able to infiltrate the student movement of the University of Toliara,” reported L’Express de Madagascar.

Her statement indicated that the government seriously considered an attempt at political destabilisation was behind the student demonstrations, said the paper.

General Richard Ravalomanana, the secretary of state for the national gendarmerie, told parliament an inquiry was taking place, and that “politics is among the reasons for this demonstration”, reported L’Express.

The university’s president, Andriamanantena Razafiarison, appealed for calm and courses were suspended.

Madagascar’s Minister of Higher Education and Research, Elia Béatrice Assoumacou, issued a statement saying the ministry was taking action to start paying months five, six and seven of grants, reported L’Express. However, students claimed they had, so far, received only one month’s grants.

An urgent meeting between the country’s president, prime minister and relevant ministers approved payment of three months’ grants, reported L’Express.

This week, the university was calm after the schedule for the payments was published and some students were able to start receiving them, reported Midi Madagasikara. — Compiled by Jane Marshall.

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