Students stage sit-in at Khartoum university over dormitory burning
February 7, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – Students from the faculties of Law and Economics at the University of Khartoum staged a sit-in on Thursday to protest the reaction of the school’s administration to the incident which took place last week.
The university dormitories were set on fire by reportedly pro-government elements in retaliation to an opposition protest at a graduation event attended by Sudan’s 2nd Vice President Al-Haj Adam Youssef.
Twenty-seven rooms housing around 132 students were impacted by the fire.
Sudanese police stepped up their presence around the university in the aftermath.
The students marched through the university on Thursday chanting “Student O student, ask for your right” and handed the administration a memo containing a set of demands.
Sources told Sudan Tribune that the students called for placing the dormitories under university management instead of the National Students Fund, not housing students from other universities in these dorms, holding those behind the burning accountable and compensating students for losses incurred as a result of the fire.
The students also said they reject the amount of compensation ordered by the dean, which was SDG 200 ($45).
Last week the head of the university, Sideeg Hayati, said in a statement that anyone who is proven to have played a role in these incidents will be punished and called on anyone with information to come forward and testify before a committee which has been established to investigate this week’s events.
(ST)