Refugee student crisis resolved

The controversy over school fees for refugee students at Bangui University in the Central African Republic (CAR), which began during the 2000-2001 academic year, has been resolved with the intervention of the National Commission for Refugees (CNR). According to a ministerial decree which dates back to 16 September 1994, foreign students and refugees are required to pay between 170,000 F CFA (US $265) and 450,000 F CFA (US $700), depending on their academic level and department. However, the decree was never applied, and refugee students continued to pay the same rate - 4,500 F CFA - as CAR citizens, diplomats, and students from the CEMAC (Communaute Economique et Monetaire de l'Afrique Centrale) region. However, when a new academic administration took office in 2000, refugee students were asked to pay the same rates as other foreign students, and were threatened with exclusion from sitting exams and from being issued with identification cards and diplomas. "Despite that, we kept paying 4,500 F CFA as before and we attended classes as usual," said Francois Muramira, a Rwandan MA student of sociology. In an effort to resolve the standoff, a census was conducted with the help of the CNR to identify true refugees, as it was suspected that a large number of "ordinary" foreign students were claiming to be refugees. The survey, completed on 29 August, showed that among the university's 7,000 students there were 96 refugees, recognised both by the CNR and the university. They comprised 33 from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 24 Chadians, 15 Rwandans, 15 Sudanese and nine Burundians. University regulations have since been amended - following negotiations between university officials, the CNR and the UN office of the High Commissioner for Refugees - and true refugees will pay the same fees as nationals.