Meeting this Wednesday, December 3, 2025, in Dakar, the National Bureau of the Autonomous Union of Higher Education (SAES) painted a particularly worrying picture of the situation in Senegalese public universities. According to the union, institutions are still struggling to complete the 2024-2025 academic year, while the new high school graduates of 2025 are still waiting for their classes to actually begin.

A system bogged down for a decade

The SAES reiterates that it has repeatedly warned of the deep-seated dysfunctions that have paralyzed higher education for over ten years. Among the identified causes are:

• Repeated university closures following the 2020 pandemic and the socio-political unrest of 2021, 2023 and 2024.

According to the union, these successive interruptions have tied the academic calendar to the electoral calendar, contradicting university freedoms and liberties.

• The lack of educational and social infrastructure, the construction or rehabilitation of which has been delayed for a decade.

• The placement of a number of high school graduates far exceeding the actual capacity of universities, and this without any accompanying measures.

• The chronic shortage of teacher-researchers.

• The lack of implementation of the measures resulting from the academic calendar stabilization seminar held in June 2024.

• The lack of evaluation of the LMD reform.

For the SAES, the lack of structural solutions to these problems remains the primary source of the current instability, exacerbated in recent days by protests on several campuses. This situation now poses a real threat to the validity of the academic year.

Calls for calm and dialogue

Faced with this latent crisis, the SAES is launching several appeals:

• To the students, so that they prioritize calm and tranquility.

• To the law enforcement agencies, whom he urges to exercise restraint in order to avoid any disproportionate use of force in the university environment.

• To the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI) and the government, to engage in a "sincere" dialogue with students. The union believes that no reform, including those concerning scholarships, can succeed without consensus, a participatory approach, and genuine consultation.

• To the State of Senegal, so that it fully assumes its role as guarantor of individual and collective freedoms, in accordance with Law 94-79 of November 7, 1994 on university freedoms.

A reaffirmed commitment to stability

Despite the volatile situation, the SAES reiterates its commitment to working towards stability in the higher education sub-sector. However, the union warns that this stability remains contingent upon the authorities respecting their commitments and engaging in open dialogue with all stakeholders.