Amid unrest, president wants to restore HE to ‘normal’

While unrest in Senegal has grown following President Macky Sall’s attempt to postpone this month’s presidential elections, he has told government ministers to meet university representatives to find solutions to restore higher education to normal at all universities.

Sall’s election postponement was ruled unconstitutional and invalidated by Senegal’s constitutional council, which called on authorities to fix a new date as soon as possible. However, the council’s recognition that it was not now possible to organise elections by the original date of 25 February led to further demonstrations, reported Le Monde.

Disruption in the higher education institutions started in June 2023 with violent demonstrations linked to the imprisonment of popular politician Ousmane Sonko. While some universities such as Ziguinchor and Gaston Berger have since reopened, Senegal’s leading university, Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), in Dakar remains closed, following the cancellation of its planned reopening for in-person courses in January 2024, reported Sud Quotidien.

UCAD has been unable to return to normal because of lack of rooms and organisational problems, and students said it was unthinkable to reopen the academic campus but not their social facilities. Renewed political tension was also likely to prolong its closure, reported Sud Quotidien.

At a council of ministers meeting this month Sall demanded that “the ministers concerned hold a consultation-review with the university community to find rapid ways and means to ensure the normal running of courses”, according to Sud Quotidien.

The newspaper published a statement following the ministers’ meeting, which said: “The head of state demands the government to ensure the good functioning of public universities to consolidate the performance of our system of higher education and the quality of national human capital.

“The president especially underlined the need to promote a ‘serene’ school and university climate, as well as the necessity of pooling programmes, human resources and support functions of universities for optimisation of financial resources mobilised to base university excellence within the Plan Sénégal Emergent [Emerging Senegal Plan].”

However, following Sall’s announcement at the beginning of February, attempting to postpone the election from 25 February until December, the country was plunged into further political instability with demonstrations in which three died, and arrests made, reported Sud Quotidien.

The funeral of Alpha Yéro Tounkara, a student at the University Gaston Berger in Saint-Louis who died after being injured during protests, took place on 16 February, reported the Agence de Presse Sénégalaise and students observed three days of mourning for him, reported the agency.

On Monday 19 February, CUD, the Collectif des Universitaires pour la Démocratie (Collective of Academics for Democracy) called on Sall to conform to the council’s decision and act urgently to fix the election by 2 April. — Compiled by Jane Marshall.

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