Students' rights association calls for Minister's resignation

ADDEC rose against the suspension of its president and its Secretary General, convicted for protesting against the requirement for students to pay additional costs at the University of Yaoundé 1.

ADDEC (Association for the defence of the rights of students from Cameroon) responded to temporary exclusion (for 2 years) of two of its leaders.

In a declaration dated 7 October 2014 and signed by the members of its national Executive Committee, she challenged the reasons for the penalties imposed on its president Thierry Batoum (student at the Ecole nationale superior Polytechnic) and the Secretary general Barthélémy Tchaleu by the Minister of higher education Jacques Fame Ndongo.

The Rector of the University of Yaoundé 1 is accused of 'lying' against Thierry Batoum, 5th year biology student at the École normale supérieure (Ens), charged with "fraud review at the end of the first semester of the academic 2013-2014year, incitement to disobedience, University unethical acts".

According to his classmates, Batoum learned of his suspension 20 days after the signing of the decision. They argue that the punished 'has never defrauded in any way whatsoever" and "has never been charged either literally or figuratively".

Otherwise he would have not been admitted to level 5, ADDEC still argued. Its Executive Office said that Tchaleu learned of his exclusion only 24 days after the signing of the decision. Addec also spoke of irregularities and mentions a "confusion of establishment".

ADDEC attributed the troubles of their two comrades to the denunciation by them of an act from the Rector of the University of Yaoundé 1 (Maurice Aurélien Sosso) which asked each student to pay in addition to the 50,000 francs of tuition fee of 6,000 francs representing the costs for the establishment of a student and health insurance card.

ADDEC said that its objectives are to "threaten social peace, much less to destabilize the Republic. They required the cancellation by the Minister Jacques Fame Ndongo's the exclusion of Batoum and Tchaleu, resignations 'without delay' of the Deputy Director of the École nationale supérieure polytechnique (Ensp) Claude Marie Ngabireng, the Director of academic affairs and the letter of the University of Yaoundé 1, Jean-Claude Tchouankeu, Rector of the University of Yaoundé 1, Maurice Aurélien Sosso and the Minister of Higher education Jacques Fame Ndongo.