New university charter aims to curb campus violence

2009-06-10

With many Algerians feeling that university violence is on the rise, education officials hope to improve public safety on campus.

By Fidet Mansour for Magharebia in Algiers – 10/06/09

[File] In a 2008 survey, more than 40% of Algerian university students reported suffering some form of abuse or harassment.

With the trial of the Mostaganem University professor's killer set to start Wednesday (June 10th), Algerian education officials hope that a new charter will reduce incidents of school violence.

The shocking murder of the professor by a student in October 2008, and the fatal stabbing of a law student in Tizi Ouzou on April 29th, created reverberations in academic circles.

he university community, feeling that the problem is on the rise, raised the alarm, joining forces to determine the roots of a problem that touches on many aspects of Algerian life.

A charter for universities is being prepared by the education ministry and the National Council for Higher Education (CNES) to prevent future acts of violence. The new policy should be in place in time for the start of the academic year in October 2009.

The charter covers two main areas: tackling physical violence and coercion, and freedom to engage in union activities.

On the issue of violence and coercion, the charter specifies that relationships between tutors and students should never move beyond the academic. Any other relationship will be prohibited.

Harassment, whether sexual or verbal, will also be clearly defined and punished.

In practical terms, security will be stepped up within classrooms and lecture halls. The carrying of knives, which have been used in a number of violent incidents, is strictly forbidden.

According to a survey conducted among students in 2008, 44% said they had suffered verbal aggression within universities, 27% said they had experienced sexual harassment, and 33% said they had been assaulted in non-sexual ways. The aggressors in 60% of the cases were students, but the remaining 40% were perpetrated by lecturers.

Abdelma Rahmani, Secretary-General of the National Council of Teachers in Higher Education, told Magharebia he is not terribly hopeful about the charter's ability to curb the attacks.

"The charter can do little about the real roots of violence," he said. "This problem is being debated in society as a whole, and that is the only place where real solutions can be worked out."

Rahmani said greater political and cultural openness and wider freedoms within society might help peace to return to university campuses.

He stressed the importance of regulating relationships between the various sections of the university community. "The charter points out that relationships between tutors and students should never go beyond the strictly academic," he said, adding that rules governing "relationships between lecturers and the administration... must be obeyed."

Mrs. Hassiba, a law school lecturer in Algiers, agreed with Rahmani. "The charter is important, in that it allows us as teachers to have a clearer vision of our role within university," she said. "We need to remember that sometimes those who teach in universities can feel marginalised, even in the very heart of the family which is the university campus."

Professor Abdelhamid Aberkane, chairman of the University of Algiers ethics council, said in a statement to the Algerian press agency that the acts of violence seen on campuses are an important sign of the "vulnerability" of universities, and their "inability to cope with the problems facing them".

Sarah, a student at Bab Ezzouar University, where a female student was murdered in 2007, makes no secret of her fear of being attacked. "I think they need to step up security at university entrances; it's not right that a student can get on campus with a knife in their bag," she told Magharebia.

Karim, an instructor at the Institute for Science, Information and Communication, is optimistic about the role to be played by the charter in calming tensions between teaching faculty and university leaders. "I'll give you an example; for two weeks, we have been on strike. But the administration hasn't taken any steps towards dialogue with the professors. There is a dialogue of the deaf between the two sides. This creates an unhealthy ambiance within the university community. While it should be a peaceful haven, the university has become in some cases a zone that is ripe for violence."

Anouar, who gives courses at the University of Bab Ezzouar, thinks the new charter is not terribly important. "The Algerian university is now reaping the benefit of many years of marginalisation. Like other domains, the university paid the price of the dark decade. Teaching, like the university community, would do well to take things in hand, so that it might play its primary instructional and scientific role," he said.