Zambia students boycott classes

2007-06-20 18:19

Lusaka - After staging violent protests, students at Zambia's biggest university began an indefinite class boycott to protest against poor sanitation at their campus, a union official said on Wednesday.

Riot police have sealed off the campus and roads leading to the University of Zambia in Lusaka, where students holding the boycott were also planning demonstrations, said Mercy Nankamba.

The protest has been prompted by a decision from the university's management to reduce cleaning staff at student hostels due to lack of funding, Nankamba said.

"The students are merely expressing their concern over the poor sanitation at the campus," she said.

Last week, students at the same university staged violent demonstrations, smashing vehicle windows and blocking main roads near the campus to protest against a strike by their lecturers who were demanding better wages.

On Monday, at Zambia's second largest university, riot policemen fired tear gas and arrested dozens of students for staging violent protests against a delay in allowance payments, the police said.

Thirty students were detained at the Copperbelt university for their role in the protest in which property at the campus was destroyed and items were stolen, police spokesman Mhakeni Zulu said.

The students at the state-run university were protesting against the government's delay in paying out meal and book allowances under a bursary scheme for students.

- AFP