Graduates protest at proposed quotas for masters access

Students of the Espace Numérique Ouvert de Thiès (ENO), an offshoot of UVS, the Virtual University of Senegal, are protesting against the proposed introduction of quotas for access to masters courses, which they claim will exclude nearly half of the 2,200 bachelor-level graduates.

“We don’t want to hear the management talk any more about quotas because, in the prospectus, there is no mention of a quota for admission to the masters,” said Abdou Top, a student union representative at the ENO (literally ‘Open Digital Space’), reported APS, the Agence de Presse Sénégalaise.

The students condemned “lack of respect” for the 2011 law on the ‘LMD’ (Licence-Masters-Doctorat) system of higher education, based on the Bologna process which excludes quotas and requires only a minimum grade of an average 11/20 over the three years of licence (bachelor degree equivalent) studies.

According to Top, the decree from 2012 authorised all students who achieved the necessary 180 credits to enrol for a masters course, reported APS.

“There are 2,200 students who have currently been confirmed and obtained their licence,” he said. “The authorities have decided to select 1,170 students. That leaves 1,030 who have been sacrificed.”

The ENO students demanded that two masters courses, professional and research, should be created to provide more places and avoid the problem of a lack of supervisors.

They also demanded postponement of the deadline for applications for admission to masters courses that was planned for 23 August.

Top pointed out that students who were now taking re-sits were excluded because of the new selection process that was being imposed on them.

“UVS is sacrificing these students,” he said, warning that, “if this measure is introduced this year, it will become permanent”, APS reported.

The students said they were prepared to fight so that every student fulfilling the conditions would be admitted to work towards a masters degree.

APS reported that, confronted with the high number of students retaking the second year of masters, the ministry of higher education, scientific research and innovation had asked university authorities to find solutions but had not specified quotas.

APS said all its attempts to ask the management of ENO de Thiès for reaction had been “in vain”. — Compiled by Jane Marshall.

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