University dead: the movement extended until August 7

2023-08-02 08:17:41

The tone goes up a notch in the universities of Madagascar. The movement started by the union of teacher-researchers (SECES) a few weeks ago continues. For Antananarivo, the university has remained closed since the week of July 17. All classes are suspended and exams also stop. In symbiosis with the administrative and technical staff, the teachers carry out what they call “dead university”. According to the latest news, this movement will continue until August 7th.

If their demands are not met, the movement of trade unionists can continue until the end of this week, and could be renewed in the weeks to come. This decision to renew the movement was taken on July 31, after a general meeting of the union. A new meeting is also planned in the coming days to decide on the continuation of the movement. This, particularly in relation to the reaction of the supervisory ministry.

In addition to the claims of SECES concerning the delay in payment of allowances for temporary teachers and overtime for the 2018-2019 period, teachers from the Faculty of Law and Political Science (FDSP) have also joined the movement in order to to express their solidarity with the teachers accused in the escape of the subject of the baccalaureate. Thus, the noose is tightening around the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

For the moment, the supervisory ministry does not yet seem to give in to the movement and demands of the teachers, hence the intensification of the movement by the trade unionists. To try to circumvent the problem, the ministry decided to seduce the students by proceeding to the payment of the five months of scholarships remaining from this week. With the release of this payment schedule, students don’t seem to care about teachers suspending classes.

But one thing is certain, the movement of teachers will have impacts on the school calendar at the university level. And it will not take long to cause the dissatisfaction of the students. However, the situation is likely to be critical if this falls in a delicate political context, with in particular the atmosphere of the very precarious presidential election.