Madar (Nouakchott) - The Student Front for the Defence of Rights and Gains on Monday held simultaneous sit-ins at several faculties of the University of Nouakchott and other higher-education institutions, calling for better conditions at universities and defending students' rights and gains.
The protests are led by the Front, which brings together four Mauritanian student unions: the National Union of Mauritanian Students, the General Union of Mauritanian Students, the National Union of Students of Mauritania and the National League of Mauritanian Students.
The four unions announced last Thursday, at the University of Nouakchott, that they had formed a joint alliance to pool their efforts and coordinate protests on higher education and campus services, after consultations on the state of the sector and the impact of decisions by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
Their main demands include revising the criteria for domestic and foreign scholarships, expanding master's places, activating doctoral schools, reinstating excluded students, improving campus services, protecting union freedoms and giving students a greater say in running universities.
