The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Mondher Belaid, announced during an unexpected visit to the governorate of Kairouan yesterday Thursday evening February 20, 2025, that he was decided to temporarily suspend the director of the university household Sabra Rakkada from his functions, awaiting the results of the current investigation. This decision follows the death of a student on Wednesday in the university residence.
According to Mosaic FM, the Minister of Higher Education chaired a meeting in the presence of several regional and central executives, members of the Assembly of People’s Representatives, Security Authorities as well as representatives of students.
The Minister told the Tunis Africa Press agency (TAP) that an administrative investigation was opened to elucidate the circumstances of the death and determine the responsibilities.
The meeting, which brought together the Minister of Higher Education, the Governor of the Region, deputies as well as representatives of the General Union of Tunisian Students and the Tunisian General Union of Students, addressed several demands raised by the representatives of the students.
On this subject, the Minister said: “We will endeavor, as far as possible, to improve the quality of meals and living conditions in university establishments”. He also underlined the desire to coordinate with the competent regional authorities to strengthen security near the Rakkada university campus and improve lighting and transport in order to ensure better conditions of stay and studies for students.
During this visit, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research also listened to the concerns of students and learned about the main gaps affecting university life in the region.
It should be noted that the students of the Rakkada university campus organized protest movements on Wednesday and Thursday morning, blocking national road n ° 2 at the campus level, in response to the death of their comrade and what they consider as a “negligence of the administration of the university residence and their lack of reaction to rescue their colleague”.
As a reminder, the deceased student was 22 years old, enrolled at the Higher Institute of Technological Studies in Kairouan and from Sisseb, in the delegation of Sbikha.