At the University of Beni Mellal, the call for tenders no. 2024/03 for the acquisition of new computer and office equipment has been cancelled. A repeal deemed "incomprehensible" by the research professors. Faced with this delay, the regional council of the National Union of Higher Education (SNEsup) is hardening its tone.
While higher education is getting a makeover in Morocco, certain obstacles are slowing down this momentum. The latest alert is the one made in Beni Mellal. Indeed, the regional council of the National Union of Higher Education (SNEsup) has expressed its categorical rejection of the cancellation of the call for tenders no. 2024/03, aimed at the acquisition of computer equipment, office supplies, and scientific equipment to support university institutions.
The decision taken by the university presidency has provoked widespread discontent, being perceived as a hard blow to pedagogical and scientific performance, while university establishments are already suffering from a serious shortage of equipment and a considerable delay in the completion of modern infrastructure.
At a time when a renewal is more requested than ever, the cancellation of this call for tenders is incomprehensible. In a statement published recently by the SNEsup of Beni Mellal, the union expresses its discontent. During an extraordinary meeting, held at the union's headquarters last week, the members addressed several issues related to the university at the local and regional level, including the cancellation of the call for tenders no. 2024/03 by the university presidency, which concerned the purchase of computer equipment, office supplies, and scientific equipment.
The regional council firmly rejected the decision to cancel this call for tenders, holding the former president of the university responsible for the irregularities that have tarnished the reputation and tainted the process. Moreover, the SNEsup of Beni Mellal criticised the management of the current interim president, who, instead of finding solutions to resolve this situation, opted for the cancellation of the call for tenders. This decision has had negative consequences on the pedagogical and scientific performance of university institutions, according to the statement.
That said, the same statement calls for "the establishment of commissions of inquiry into the financial, administrative, and pedagogical management of the university presidency as well as some of its affiliated institutions, in order to examine the dysfunctions raised by the statements of the local offices". The council also requested the acceleration of the publication of the competition for the position of university president, based on the principles of competence, performance, and continuity of public service, while linking responsibility to accountability.
In this context, the council reiterated its call to the university presidency to accelerate the coverage of needs for essential equipment and to hasten the completion of modern infrastructure, including the finalisation of the construction of the faculty of medicine and its separation from the National School of Applied Sciences, in order to reduce the excessive pressure weighing on the latter.
The regional council of the SNEsup reaffirmed its unreserved support for the struggles led by the local offices within the university city of Beni Mellal, as well as the legitimate and just demands they carry. It also expressed its readiness to organise more sustained protest actions to support this dynamic of struggle, calling on all research professors to unite for the protection of the public university.
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