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| Rebirth of a university in Ivory Coast | Rebirth of a university in Ivory Coast |
| (30 days later) | |
| On Cocody University campus, the biggest in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, workers are busy – finishing paint jobs, planting shrubs and installing tables and chairs for around 62,000 students (out of 85,000 in the whole country). The university is reopening after 18 months. All three Ivorian universities closed in April 2011, following "les évènements", as they euphemistically call the civil war between supporters of former president Laurent Gbagbo's Ivorian People's Front and those who backed the current president, Alassane Ouattara. Around 3,000 people were killed during the conflict. | On Cocody University campus, the biggest in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, workers are busy – finishing paint jobs, planting shrubs and installing tables and chairs for around 62,000 students (out of 85,000 in the whole country). The university is reopening after 18 months. All three Ivorian universities closed in April 2011, following "les évènements", as they euphemistically call the civil war between supporters of former president Laurent Gbagbo's Ivorian People's Front and those who backed the current president, Alassane Ouattara. Around 3,000 people were killed during the conflict. |
| In the last decade, the Student Federation of Ivory Coast (Fesci) gradually took over the Cocody campus, and it was the scene of violent clashes during the civil war. The "student union" had become a pro-Gbagbo militia led by fake students, and it imposed a reign of terror based on racketeering, rape and murder. "During the repairs a mass grave was discovered on the campus," says Cissé Ibrahima Bacongo, the higher education and research minister. | In the last decade, the Student Federation of Ivory Coast (Fesci) gradually took over the Cocody campus, and it was the scene of violent clashes during the civil war. The "student union" had become a pro-Gbagbo militia led by fake students, and it imposed a reign of terror based on racketeering, rape and murder. "During the repairs a mass grave was discovered on the campus," says Cissé Ibrahima Bacongo, the higher education and research minister. |
| After being vandalised and stripped bare, nothing remained of the buildings but their outer shell. All the computers, files, records and books had vanished. "As if they had wanted to make it impossible for the students to return," the minister recalls. Before the repairs could begin, the authorities had to evacuate several thousand squatters who settled in the wreckage of the buildings. | After being vandalised and stripped bare, nothing remained of the buildings but their outer shell. All the computers, files, records and books had vanished. "As if they had wanted to make it impossible for the students to return," the minister recalls. Before the repairs could begin, the authorities had to evacuate several thousand squatters who settled in the wreckage of the buildings. |
| Rebuilding the universities and making the start of the new school year a success thus became a key political issue for the government. To finish the repairs in record time, the ministry turned to local building contractors and authorised them to take out loans to cover the initial funding of work, worth about $220m – three times the original estimate. | Rebuilding the universities and making the start of the new school year a success thus became a key political issue for the government. To finish the repairs in record time, the ministry turned to local building contractors and authorised them to take out loans to cover the initial funding of work, worth about $220m – three times the original estimate. |
| "It's true that we overlooked the cost of laying new turf, repairing the roads and laying optic fibre," Bacongo admits. But the budget overrun is so large that Ouattara has ordered an inquiry into the tendering process. | "It's true that we overlooked the cost of laying new turf, repairing the roads and laying optic fibre," Bacongo admits. But the budget overrun is so large that Ouattara has ordered an inquiry into the tendering process. |
| In just a few months there has been a radical change. Visiting the campus in September, the French ambassador, Georges Serre, said: "I am bowled over by the speed and quality of the work carried out." The campus now boasts 140 buildings – libraries, brand new lecture theatres, student residences and sports facilities – spread over a 200-hectare landscaped park and connected by a fibre-optic network. On 3 September, at the official re-opening ceremony, the education minister presented the keys of the country's three main universities to their newly appointed presidents. | In just a few months there has been a radical change. Visiting the campus in September, the French ambassador, Georges Serre, said: "I am bowled over by the speed and quality of the work carried out." The campus now boasts 140 buildings – libraries, brand new lecture theatres, student residences and sports facilities – spread over a 200-hectare landscaped park and connected by a fibre-optic network. On 3 September, at the official re-opening ceremony, the education minister presented the keys of the country's three main universities to their newly appointed presidents. |
| Cocody has been renamed after Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the country's first president after independence. Abobo-Adjamé, also in Abidjan and originally the science faculty, has become a separate establishment under a new name, Nangui-Abrogoua, after the warrior who founded the former capital in the 18th century. Last, Bouaké has become Alassane Ouattara University, in honour of the president. | Cocody has been renamed after Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the country's first president after independence. Abobo-Adjamé, also in Abidjan and originally the science faculty, has become a separate establishment under a new name, Nangui-Abrogoua, after the warrior who founded the former capital in the 18th century. Last, Bouaké has become Alassane Ouattara University, in honour of the president. |
| It is an administrative challenge to enrol – or re-enrol – students when all the records have been lost. In addition, there are three years' worth of school-leavers, who have been deprived of higher education since June 2010 and must now be accommodated in the first-year intake. | It is an administrative challenge to enrol – or re-enrol – students when all the records have been lost. In addition, there are three years' worth of school-leavers, who have been deprived of higher education since June 2010 and must now be accommodated in the first-year intake. |
| "We asked members of the administrative staff to bring back any handwritten records they might have kept, so that they could be scanned with help from the Association of French-speaking Universities," says Yao Tano, president of Nangui-Abrogoua University. New teaching staff had to be recruited too, including 100 or so for Houphouët-Boigny and another 30 at Nangui-Abrogoua, drawing on the Ivorian diaspora in an attempt to bring graduates home from abroad, particularly from France. | "We asked members of the administrative staff to bring back any handwritten records they might have kept, so that they could be scanned with help from the Association of French-speaking Universities," says Yao Tano, president of Nangui-Abrogoua University. New teaching staff had to be recruited too, including 100 or so for Houphouët-Boigny and another 30 at Nangui-Abrogoua, drawing on the Ivorian diaspora in an attempt to bring graduates home from abroad, particularly from France. |
| The students whom Le Monde met at the end of September were doubtful about classes actually starting as planned. Computers and lab equipment still hadn't arrived. They were also worried about the increase in fees, up from around $12 to $200 for a bachelor's degree – with the state covering two-thirds of the cost this year. About 30 students have already started their course at Abidjan Ecole Normale Supérieure. "It is urgent to consolidate secondary education, which has suffered recently, as you can see from the poor 17% success rate for the baccalaureate exam this year," says Valy Sidibé, the school's head. | The students whom Le Monde met at the end of September were doubtful about classes actually starting as planned. Computers and lab equipment still hadn't arrived. They were also worried about the increase in fees, up from around $12 to $200 for a bachelor's degree – with the state covering two-thirds of the cost this year. About 30 students have already started their course at Abidjan Ecole Normale Supérieure. "It is urgent to consolidate secondary education, which has suffered recently, as you can see from the poor 17% success rate for the baccalaureate exam this year," says Valy Sidibé, the school's head. |
| The government has seized the opportunity to reorganise higher education to bring it into line with international standards, in particular the three-tier degree system. Admissions will be restricted to suit the real capacity of specific courses, but selection criteria have yet to be decided. "We will only allow students to repeat a year once," says Bacongo, who is determined to oust "professional" students, thought to number between 2,000 and 5,000, including Fesci troublemakers. The government also plans to launch three new universities in other areas of the country. | The government has seized the opportunity to reorganise higher education to bring it into line with international standards, in particular the three-tier degree system. Admissions will be restricted to suit the real capacity of specific courses, but selection criteria have yet to be decided. "We will only allow students to repeat a year once," says Bacongo, who is determined to oust "professional" students, thought to number between 2,000 and 5,000, including Fesci troublemakers. The government also plans to launch three new universities in other areas of the country. |
| • This article appeared in the Guardian Weekly, which incorporates material from Le Monde | • This article appeared in the Guardian Weekly, which incorporates material from Le Monde |
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