In a recent interview, Ivorian Minister of Higher Education Bacongo Cisse said instructors living outside the country may be hired to address shortages in the country's public universities. According to Mr. Cisse, with the opening of the country's public universities this September, in addition to those students registered at the two university campuses in Abidjan, a total of 21,000 students have been registered at the Bouake campus and another 8,000 in Korhogo. To deal with the high demand for teachers, in addition to hiring new recruits, DVCs and other distance learning capabilities offered by information technology may be used as well, he added.

Still on universities, Nord-Sud Quotidien (p. 6) reported that Mr. Cisse said he is opposed to suppressing the nation's student unions, despite their history of violent partisan politics, racketeering and other crimes. This decision seemed to be welcomed by the secretary general of the militant group known as FESCI, which is also the country's major student union. "Our union is going to change," Mian Augustin reportedly said.