Bahrain: University students attacked as violence escalates

EI has condemned the suspension of higher education in Bahrain as the brutal repression of pro-democracy protesters demanding political reforms within the kingdom continues.

The protesters have been inspired by the recent uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, whose long-serving presidents were forced from power after weeks of demonstrations. Despite the king reshuffling his cabinet he has not replaced the prime minister of more than 40 years, Sheikh Khalifah ibn Salman al-Khalifah.

After eight weeks of protests, more than 1,000 troops from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and 500 from the United Arab Emirates have arrived in Bahrain at the invitation of the government. It is not clear whether soldiers from other Gulf states are taking part in the crackdown, but there are indications that the Saudi troops are being kept in reserve. This is the first time that an Arab government has called for outside military help during the wave of protests sweeping the region.

The Shi’a-led opposition platform has declared as ‘unacceptable’ all intervention by the armed forces of neighbouring countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council, a six-nation regional grouping which includes Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

With a population with a median age of 30 years, and a literacy rate of 91 per cent, Bahrain is a country with a successful educational record. Despite this, youth unemployment levels stand at 19.6 per cent.

Bahrain’s Shi’a Muslim majority has long complained of economic hardship, lack of political freedom and discrimination in jobs in favour of Sunni Muslims by the kingdom’s ruling Sunni Muslim minority. It has also called for the evolution of their nation from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy.

The General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU) has called for a general strike on 15 March after a spate of violent attacks on university students, and the excessive use of force by riot police in the financial centre of the capital, Manama.

On Tuesday, at least two people were killed in clashes and more than 200 were injured. A trade union source reported: “Security forces have used both rubber bullets and live ammunition against the demonstrators. Men armed with knives, batons and revolvers, claiming to be government supporters, have stopped cars at crossroads and several trade union members have been beaten. The premises of political parties have been burnt down and we fear that there will be an attack on our own premises.”

A three-month state of emergency has been declared by King Hamad ibn Isa al-Khalifa. The academic year of university institutions has also been suspended and the government has imposed a curfew and banned all demonstrations.

Riot police entered Manama's Salmaniya Medical Centre on Wednesday, as doctors reported that they were being prevented from reaching the hospital or treating patients.

One doctor stated that she and her colleagues were hiding from troops who had taken over the building and were shooting at people inside the hospital and threatening the doctors with live ammunition.

"They are all around us with their guns and they are shooting anybody," she said.

source:http://www.ei-ie.org/news/news_details/1700

WSF: Poverty and child labour undermine quality education in Africa

EI and its affiliates have participated in workshops on early childhood education and child labour in western Africa at the World Social Forum which has been held in Dakar, Senegal.

The World Social Forum (WSF) is an international event that draws thousands of people to exchange views on globalisation, human rights and workers’ rights. A special focus in this year’s forum has been African issues, in particular developments in Tunisia and Egypt, as well as the lack of action on development and poverty in Africa.

Making their interventions, EI affiliated teacher unionists from SYNESP (Benin); SYNTER (Burkina Faso); BUPL (Denmark); GEW (Germany); GNAT (Ghana); NAGRAT (Ghana);SNEB (Niger), FESEN (Togo), joined members of EI’s Senegalese affiliates and EI’s Africa Region staff to discuss policies to enhance early childhood education, as recommended by the Education for All (EFA) program and the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Participants agreed that unions in western Africa must pursue their efforts to urge governments to take appropriate political measures for quality education. They expressed their concerns about how it could be that countries with limited natural resources, such as Cape Verde, Mauritius and Tunisia, were among the best performers in education, while the richest countries in the region justified their bad performances with budgetary restraints.

Teacher unionists also discussed the high propensity for child labour in the region, and articulated means to fight this practise which was depriving thousands of children from accessing education.

EI’s Africa Region coordinator, Samuel Ngoua Ngou, who took part in the workshops said: “It is not unusual for a child to start working at the age of five. The evidence shows that if a child does not get a basic education, he or she is unlikely to get it later as an adult.”

“There is no doubt that child labour is part of the daily reality in Africa. Despite the legal tools existing to fight it, including governments signing relevant international conventions, the questions is why nothing appears to be happening?”

Ngoua Ngou added that principal factors are the poverty which many families are experiencing, in addition to a lack of political will when the evidence becomes clear that children are not going to school either because there are none in the area, or because the teachers are unqualified.

General Secretary of the ITUC-affiliate CNTS Senegal, and President of ITUC-Africa, Mody Guiro, echoed Ngoua Ngou’s opinion: “It is more than urgent to change the current model of globalisation and put an end to the neo-liberal orthodoxy that has left millions of Africans with under-funded education systems, poor health services and virtually no decent work opportunities. From the WSF in Dakar we call for a new agenda with full employment at its heart.”

The GEW, one of EI’s German affiliates, which is launching a campaign for the eradication of child labour in the cocoa industry, said that it would bring the impact of the issues into classrooms by raising awareness of the conditions under which snack bars, often eaten in schools at lunch time, are produced.

EI applauds its African and German affiliates’ efforts to tackle child labour to reach the MDGs by 2015. It also urges all governments to allocate public funds in the fight against child labour and towards attainment of EFA, while ending the use of the global financial crisis as the short-sighted justification for cutting education budgets.

 

source:http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/show.php?id=1523&theme=educationforall&country=global

Tunisia: Education resumes while activists continue to mobilise

Students and teachers across Tunisia have resumed their classes after weeks of protests that brought down the government of former President Ben Ali, but the debates continue about how to shape a new Tunisia.

Prior to the resignation of former President Ben Ali his Education Minister had shut down all education institutions during the exam period.

With a new Education Minister in post, schools have now resumed, and for the past two weeks, despite the insecurity and impassioned discussion on the shape of democratic developments in Tunisia, most students are able to take their exams.

In acknowledgement of Tunisians placing a high value on education, all students who missed classes, either because they were unable to return from the safety of their rural villages or because they were involved in protest action for or against the transition government, will have the opportunity to take their exams at a later date.

Eye witness accounts tell the story of insecurity within colleges and across the country. Higher education institutions are quieter because many older students have been engaged in debates about the current reforms. Civil society groups and the judiciary continue to be locked in debates about the next steps for Tunisia.

The transition President has been appointed, and not elected. The parliament continues to be composed of representatives from Ben Ali's dominant political party who are considered illegitimate by the people, but the infrastructure is not in place to enable parliamentary elections to happen quickly.

The opposition movement began as a popular uprising with unemployed young people and the energetic spirit of mobilisation continues to be active. Passionate debates about reform have replaced protests on the streets. Freedom of expression is being exercised fully, especially within universities.

While the transition government is not universally accepted, the old cadres have been ousted and new ministers with expertise have been coopted. However, the political experience is taking its toll. On 9 February, teachers from the primary and secondary education sector staged demonstrations to protest at offensive statements made by some newly appointed ministers.

Ordinary citizens, not just the intellectuals, want to understand how the democratic reforms can be implemented. There are reflections on what to keep from the 1958 Republican Constitution, what role civil society organisations can and must play. The trade union centre, UGTT, which played a major role in coordinating the so-called Jasmin Revolution across the country is represented in many commissions which are now developing new policies.

People are feeling inspired. They feel that they finally have a real say and want to be sure to take the right steps to preserve the integrity of these historic events.

 

source:http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/show.php?id=1512&theme=ei&country=tunisia