Khartoum approves list of Darfuri students exempt from tuition fees
November 15, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government has agreed to exempt Darfur college students whose names were submitted by the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) from tuition fees and approved merging the federal and the DRA committees in order to produce a database for the sons of refugees and IDP’s to serve as a reference for the exemption.
The government decided that all Darfuri students who have been admitted to colleges according to Abuja or Doha agreements would be exempted from tuition until graduating from college in line with the 15% ratio that has been stipulated in these accords.
Omer told reporters following the meeting that they agreed to adopt the list of the sons of refugees and IDP’s provided by the DRA for exemptions, pointing to the database prepared by the Ministry of Federal Governance and the list prepared by the DRA in this regard.
He further mentioned that the committee would issue a regulation for students eligible for exemption before or during the admission process.
The exemption from tuition fees was first included in Abuja peace agreement signed with the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) in May 2006 but the agreement did not define who is the Darfurian student benefiting from the measure.
Since, the exemption is implemented differently from a university to another, according to the administrative discretion of the university. It also causes regular disputes with Darfuri students who apply for it.
Some universities say it is only applicable to those who benefit from a government scholarship but not the others who comprise the majority of Darfuri students.
(ST)