Mauritanian teachers' strike, cabinet reshuffling delay release of bac exam results

16/07/2008

Baccalureate candidates in Mauritania eagerly await their results as teachers end their long strike and a new government is formed.

By Mohammed Yahya Abdel Wedoud for Magharebia in Nouakchott - 16/07/08

[Mohammed Yahya Abdel Wedoud] A teachers strike and cabinet reshuffling in Mauritania left students uncertain about the results of their bac exams. On Saturday, students learned that the results would be released and recognized.

Mauritanian students breathed a sigh of relief Saturday (July 12th) when the country’s Trade Union of Secondary Education Teachers (SIPES) ended its long strike and said it would recognise last month’s baccalaureate exams.

"The union decided to back down from its challenge to the baccalaureate out of fear for the credibility of the certificates around the country," union chief Mohammed Ould Rebani said in a conference to announce the end of strike.

"The teachers are also about to develop a petition of demands so that it may respond to the level of challenges in consultation with the teachers in order to carry on the struggle," Rebani added.

More than 23,000 students who took the baccalaureate exams last month have been worried about their future after the union refused to acknowledge the exams and threatened to ask universities outside Mauritania not to accept certificates from this year's graduates.

"In the absence of 80% of the teachers this year, the organisation of the baccalaureate exams was a big joke because of an insufficient number of monitors," Rebani said on July 3rd.

The lack of proper surveillance at examination sites contributed to widespread cheating, he said.

Teachers seeking higher pay and a review of the laws on promotions began their general strike on May 26th. At the time, the union said salaries only cover 30 per cent of teachers' expenses.

The National Education Ministry refused to hold talks with the union and in June, it suspended the salaries of more than 2,500 teachers under the pretext that they had not gone to work.

"We regret this repressive measure which the Ministry took in suspending the salaries. Going on strike is a right guaranteed under the law and we will not accept being denied it," one of the striking teachers, who preferred not to be identified, told Magharebia.

National Education Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Mukhtar Ould Abek said the 2008 budget would not allow the ministry to meet the demands of striking teachers and provide them with higher wages.

"However, we shall take this into consideration next year," he added.

While the release of their exam results has been delayed, many baccalaureate candidates have been spending time watching television, reading newspapers and hoping for a swift resolution to the problem.

"I've become addicted to listening to the local news to hear anything that may satisfy my thirst for news about the baccalaureate exams," said Saida, a 20-year-old arts-section student.

"I'm extremely worried about the grading process because many of the efficient and experienced teachers are not taking part in the grading process this year," she added.

"Time flies by," said Ahmed Salim, another student. He said he wished the ministry and the union would work together "in order to reach a solution that would be satisfactory for everyone and put an end to the crisis".

Concurrent with the teachers' strike, the Mauritanian government has faced uncertainty in recent weeks: a censure motion threat, the resignation and subsequent reappointment of Prime Minster Yahya Ould Ahmed El Waghef.

Mohamed Ould Amar was named the new National Education Minister.

Now that the strike is over, thousands of baccalaureate exams can be graded.

There is no word yet as to when the students will learn their results.