University of Sudan withholds diplomas from 685 Darfuri graduates

The management of the University of Sudan has refused to hand Darfuri graduates their diplomas.

“The administration insists that our tuition fees have to be paid first,” graduate Adam Mousa told Radio Dabanga.

He said that the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) did not pay the tuition fee arrears. “The university’s management contacted the DRA but did not receive a response. Now that the DRA has been resolved as planned, we don’t expect any support from them anymore.”

Mousa said that 685 Darfuri graduates from various disciplines are involved.

The affected students have appealed to the authorities “to intervene and resolve the problem so that we will not lose our future”.

Exemption

In the 2011 Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, it was agreed that Darfuri students would be exempted from registration and tuition fees at any Sudanese university. The measure was later confirmed in an agreement between the DRA and the Sudanese Ministry of higher Education.

In the 2006 Abuja Peace Agreement and the 2011 Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, free enrolment of Darfuri students at Sudanese universities and higher institutes was guaranteed. The stipulation was later enforced in an agreement between the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) and the federal Ministry of Higher Education.

However, during the past years, many universities in Sudan have refused to register Darfuri students or dismissed them because they could not afford to pay tuition fees. Protest meetings and sit-ins by the Darfuris at campuses were increasingly disturbed by militant student supporters of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), backed by security agents.