Swaziland : STUDENTS TOLD : NAME STRIKE LEADERS

Striking students in Swaziland have been told they cannot resume studies unless they give their university the names of strike leaders.

The Southern Africa Nazarene University (SANU) made the demand following a dispute in the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Students are being forced to reapply to study and as part of that application they are asked to complete questionnaires which include three questions : How did the student body resolve to boycott classes in the absence of a student representative council ? Who was responsible for calling all students out of their classrooms to join the strike ? Do you know who were in the forefront of the strike action / the leaders ? Name them.

All students were also asked to answer this question : ‘You participated in a class boycott between the period 3 September and 10 September 2014 and destroyed University property in the process. State and show cause why you as an individual should not be held accountable for the damage you caused to the University property.’

The students went on strike in a dispute over allowances, poor learning conditions in the institution, insufficient books in the library and lack of laboratory equipment for science experiments. They boycotted classes for a week in early September 2014 and the Faculty of Health Sciences has been closed since.

Students who are being assisted by the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) are considering taking the matter to court to force the reopening of the faculty.