Student unions reject ban on scholarships to study abroad

Mauritanian student unions have rejected a decision by the country’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research that denies students who successfully completed their baccalaureate to get scholarships for studying abroad – and only allows masters and doctoral students to do so.

Both the General Union of Mauritanian Students, or UGEM, and the National Union of Mauritanian Students, or UNEM, called on the ministry to review and reverse its decision.

Al-Tohamy Sayed Mohamed, the secretary general of UGEM, told University World News via WhatsApp that the union had captured its objections in a statement on 28 August, a day after the ministry’s decision.

According to him, the ministry’s reasons for the decision were not clear. He also criticised the lack of consultation with student unions.

The UGEM statement said the ministry’s decision sent a “negative message of not appreciating excellence” and said scholarships abroad served as encouragement for students as it offered opportunities to all students, including those from vulnerable classes who could prove themselves and excel.

The statement also highlighted that the scholarships allowed successful students to study in specialisation areas which were not available at national higher education institutions.

The UGEM statement also pointed out that the higher education system was not prepared to accommodate the large number of successful baccalaureate students this year as there was a lack of teaching and administrative staff and university services to cater for all the students, including the provisioning of food and transport.

UNEM also issued a statement rejecting the decision. UNEM said students who are from vulnerable classes will be affected as academic excellence was the only way to gain access to higher education and equal opportunities.

“We call on all students and unions to participate in a broad consultation process to come up with a plan to support the demands of Mauritanian students and their fundamental right to an advanced education and to be equal before the law,” the statement stressed.

Mohamed Hamady Sidihelballa, the assistant secretary general for external relations of UNEM, described the ministry’s decision as “premature, unilateral and surprising”.

“It was not based on reality or on the capacity of our educational institutions,” Sidihelballa told University World News.

“It would have been better to prepare for this new move so that we could ensure the availability of appropriate university services and a trained and capable educational cadre, and so that students could continue their higher education in university institutions that [could] accommodate them,” he said.

What are the ministry’s reasons?

The ministry said on 27 August that the decision was part of a new strategy to strengthen the independence of the national higher education system and its ability to accommodate all those who passed the baccalaureate, which reached a 98.5% pass rate in the academic year that has just concluded at the end of July 2024.

The ministry said in its statement that the measure also reflected the remarkable progress in the higher education system in Mauritania since 2019, which has witnessed an increase in the number of educational institutions, an expansion of their capacities, and an improvement in educational conditions such as improved access to higher education, more fields of study along with raising the quality and effectiveness of national higher education institutions.

The ministry said it aimed to provide educational opportunities for the top 1.5% students who used to be sent abroad, to obtain higher quality and less expensive training locally, in line with the needs of the national labour market and among their families.

Mauritania ranks 125th out of 133 countries in the Global Knowledge Index (2023), which measures knowledge performance worldwide, using seven main sectoral indices, including higher education alongside research, development and innovation.