July 16, 2002
Universities challenged
Student strikes, courses and scholarships cancelled, buildings in disrepair. Since 1990 African campuses have been in crisis as the state, their main source of funding, has found itself up against democratic opposition. Obsessed by the "good governance" ordered by international financial institutions, the new leaders have ignored higher education as unproductive.In the story of every countries, most student, especially in universities was rightly to be judged as an agent of movements. In the case of democratisation, they were the main role player in this field. Looking for the most universities in any development countries, they usually met with situation like this. While studying, they ocassionaly (or always?) strikes, scholarship cancelled, even also should be treatened of withdrawing their nationality (the case of Indonesian student who demonstrate their government). Yeah, it's difficult guys. But, we couldn't life always in crisis. We should somewhile get that damn freedom living in peace. The matter is, get the freedom in peace usually seem really fake, it's difficult to catch, even for personal freedom. Isn't that?
The universities have played a major part in democratisation and in them the desire for change lives on. The desire for renewal that emerged in the early 1990s was so strong that schoolchildren and students joined the political quest for power without always thinking what that involved (1). For the most part dominated by the need for material improvement to their living conditions, their demands became political.
Posted at July 16, 2002 10:03 PM | World
