Darfuri students stage sit-in protest

Say they will ask for support from other universities in Khartoum if their tuition fees are not waived off

Darfuri students in Khartoum University and Omdurman Islamic University in Khartoum staged a sit-in protest on Thursday after the management denied them from registering due to non-payment of tuition fees.The students in turn demanded entry into the universities and said that they would find other ways to attend classes if their demands are not met by Sunday.

Walid Abdel-Rahman, chairperson of the association of Darfur students at the Islamic University, said, “They will continue their sit-in protest and will include all universities of the center if it does not solve the problem.”

The Darfuri students sent a letter to the directors at Khartoum University and Omdurman Islamic University to exempt them from tuition fees. The administration, however, refused to meet this demand claiming that the finance ministry had stopped paying the tuition fees for Darfuri students after the expiry of the Abuja settlement.

The Abuja settlement had ensured that Darfur students in rest of the country could get free education due to the difficult conditions in the region.