North Darfur students protest in solidarity with striking teachers
Secondary school students staged a demonstration in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, on Sunday, in solidarity with their teachers who embarked on a strike eight days ago. The students chanted slogans like “No lessons without Idris”, referring to Idris Mohamed Abdallah, the director of the Darfur Secondary School in El Fasher, who was dismissed, together with another secondary school director by the North Darfur State Minister of Education, because of the strike. A secondary school student told Radio Dabanga that the protesters marched through the southern districts of El Fasher. “The demonstration forced the basic schools in the area to close, and send the pupils home, as the protesters threw stones at the basic schools, out of anger of the basic school teachers, who did not show their solidarity by striking too.” “The police attempted to disperse the demonstrators with tear gas and firing into the air.” The student explained that they went to the streets “in protest against the disruption of our studies, for which we hold the North Darfur State authorities responsible”. “The authorities are to be blamed because they refuse to pay the secondary school teachers their financial dues.” The secondary school teachers in the localities of Mellit, Kutum, and Kabkabiya continued their strike, in solidarity with the teachers of El Fasher locality. “We are also fed up of waiting for the payment of salary and bonus arrears”, a teacher told Radio Dabanga from Kutum. He said that the teachers will continue to strike until the matter of financial arrears in North Darfur has been “settled in a comprehensive manner”. The North Darfur State authorities have threatened the striking teachers with dismissal. The security forces continue to summon the eight members of the Teachers Committee, who initiated the strike, daily to their office. The teachers have to report in the morning, and are being kept there until the evening in a form of semi-detention.News photo: School students protest in El Fasher on 14 September 2014 (Radio Dabanga correspondent) Related: Sudan Workers Union supports Darfur teachers’ strike (11 September 2014)
Secondary school students staged a demonstration in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, on Sunday, in solidarity with their teachers who embarked on a strike eight days ago.
The students chanted slogans like “No lessons without Idris”, referring to Idris Mohamed Abdallah, the director of the Darfur Secondary School in El Fasher, who was dismissed, together with another secondary school director by the North Darfur State Minister of Education, because of the strike.
A secondary school student told Radio Dabanga that the protesters marched through the southern districts of El Fasher. “The demonstration forced the basic schools in the area to close, and send the pupils home, as the protesters threw stones at the basic schools, out of anger of the basic school teachers, who did not show their solidarity by striking too.”
“The police attempted to disperse the demonstrators with tear gas and firing into the air.”
The student explained that they went to the streets “in protest against the disruption of our studies, for which we hold the North Darfur State authorities responsible”. “The authorities are to be blamed because they refuse to pay the secondary school teachers their financial dues.”
The secondary school teachers in the localities of Mellit, Kutum, and Kabkabiya continued their strike, in solidarity with the teachers of El Fasher locality. “We are also fed up of waiting for the payment of salary and bonus arrears”, a teacher told Radio Dabanga from Kutum. He said that the teachers will continue to strike until the matter of financial arrears in North Darfur has been “settled in a comprehensive manner”.
The North Darfur State authorities have threatened the striking teachers with dismissal. The security forces continue to summon the eight members of the Teachers Committee, who initiated the strike, daily to their office. The teachers have to report in the morning, and are being kept there until the evening in a form of semi-detention.
News photo: School students protest in El Fasher on 14 September 2014 (Radio Dabanga correspondent)
Related: Sudan Workers Union supports Darfur teachers’ strike (11 September 2014)
and then