University reopens after two-week closure

The national university of Niger has reopened after two weeks of official closure following student demonstrations earlier this month. Officials said on Monday that classes were due to resume this week. The government unexpectedly closed Abdou Moumouni national university in the capital, Niamey, on 13 October following two days of anti-government demonstrations on 8 and 9 October. The university was officially closed to allow the government to undertake refurbishment work and reallocate the places available in student residences on the basis of greatest need. There are 12,000 students enrolled at the university. Abdoul Aziz Issa Douada, the director general of the Ministry of Secondary and Higher Education, said at the weekend this work had now been completed and the university would reopen. On Sunday, the students' union voted to end a month-long boycott of classes. Niger is one of the world's poorest countries and its government-run university has struggled for years with funding problems, prompting a series of strikes by students and lecturers. These led to the loss of two months of normal classes during the 2002/3 academic year. As a result of this disruption, it has not yet been completed. The student protests earlier this month were prompted by the government's failure to pay living allowances that were several months in arrears.