29 September 2007
Bujumbura — The University of Burundi started a new academic year with a theme of normalisation on this 28 September.
As this academic year begins, the university is faced with many systematic problems, including overlapping academic years. The last academic year, which some faculties have not completed, lasted 18 months.
Repeated strikes of teachers and students are the main causes of this delay. Most of the strikes are protests against a so called unknown agenda aimed at privatizing this institution which owes more than two billion of Burundian francs to its creditors.
This government-owned university is also crippled by a lack of teachers due to brain drain. More than 163 teachers finished their doctoral education in Burundi but have not returned to the country since. More than 20 teachers have migrated to Rwandan universities in search of higher pay.
The promised 34&percnt increase in salary for civil servants does not apply to workers or the Univeristy of Burndi or government-owned institutions which are managed autonomously.
The teachers of the University of Burundi object to being omitted from this pay raise. Since 1993, political problems have debilitated the University of Burundi. The number of students enrolled in the university has increased while the infrastructure remains the same.
The Head of State said last year that he intended to build universities in other provinces, claiming that funds for this social activity would be easy to come by. This promise has not yet been honoured.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 Burundi Réalités. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
