Science is light o where’s the light? [Archives:2007/1054/Reportage]
May 28 2007
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“Science is light, so where's the light?” was the slogan of female residential students at the Science and Technology University, who held a first sit-in on Monday, May 21 inside the residence and another one outside or in front of the university on May 22.
According to one of the students, “We were without electricity or water for five days, so we staged a sit-in inside the residence on Monday, May 21 from 6:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m., but no one in charge of the residence or student affairs was ready to talk with us.
“The only solution they offer is to move the 130 of us to another place for a certain time, but then after exams, the situation will be as it is now. We need a real solution,” she added.
She continued, “The real reason behind the problem is the existence of only one [electric] meter for 20 apartments, and with four rooms in each apartment, it became damaged due to the pressure upon it. This damage resulted in a fire, but the guard immediately extinguished it, so the fire didn't spread.
“If the fire had spread, we all would've died because we lack fire extinguishers. There are only three and all of them are in the administration office,” the student commented.
Students say the money they pay for the residence, as well as to the university, is too much while the services offered are nothing like what they read about on the internet or in the school's catalog.
Most students said that when they were back home searching for a university at which to study, they read a lot about the Science and Technology University's qualities, both regarding residence and the university program.
“I read in the catalog that there's a swimming pool, a sports hall, large and clean buses, as well as internet; however, upon coming to Yemen, I was shocked to find that it's only ink on paper,” one student complained.
“The only thing that made me leave my country and my family and come to Yemen was to study, but the study environment here doesn't help. Even when girls are sick, no one inquires about them,” another student maintained.
Yet another student recalled, “I got sick one day and my friend was the only one who tried to carry me and help me to the hospital at 10 p.m. If someone had kidnapped us, no one would have known.”
“I got sick for a week, but not one of the supervisors came to see me, so I sometimes stayed alone just crying. For the first time in my life, I prefer not to study. I hope I can return to my home,” another student lamented.
As one girl explained, “We pay 7,000 Yemeni Riyals monthly for a small single room, while a medium single is YR 8,000 and a large single is YR 9,000. A large double room for two girls is YR 9,000, in addition to YR 12,000 annually for water and electricity and YR 5,000 for annual insurance.
“Prices increased for 2006-2007, but services remain weak. A small single room now is YR 8,000 and a medium single is YR 9,000. A large single room or a double room for two girls both are approximately YR 11,000, while a triple room for three girls is approximately YR 19,000. We now pay YR 18,000 annually for water and electricity, but insurance remains at YR 5,000 annually.”
Additionally, the students reported that the university administration sometimes compels them to pay even more. “They say we use a lot of water, so we must pay additional amounts ranging between YR 415 and YR 11,800.
“I don't know how they're able to specify the amount each girl must pay because there's only one meter. Maybe it's according to the electronic machine, but that isn't fair,” one student maintained.
“Even though there are no articles in the university contract requiring us to pay more in any circumstance, they threaten us to pay it or they won't show us our marks regarding whether we failed or succeeded on our exams,” she alleged.
She continued, “We held a sit-in to force the directors to listen to our problems. We want to talk with them. We sat in the hot sun for hours, but no one from either university management or residence administration came to listen to us.”
“One of the directors told our supervisors to ignore us and that was the most hurtful thing. We were waiting for someone to listen to our problems, but the response was to ignore us,” one student complained.
Portuqala Al-Shatibi, administrative director of the university residence women's section, explained, “We moved the girls from residences in Al-Hasabah and Mathbah to a large building we are renting on Al-Raqqas Street. Before arriving at the new residence, we formed a union to maintain the entire building.
“The owner informed us that there's one [electric] meter, but that it could hold up under any pressure. However, due to its small cable, it couldn't handle the pressure, so it shorted out. As a result of this problem, the owner is working to increase the number of meters in the building,” she added.
Al-Shatibi considers such electrical shorts and cuts a common problem throughout Yemen, not just at the Science and Technology University. “We're working to solve the problem, but the girls are exaggerating. Neither the electricity nor the water has been cut for five days continuously,” she clarified.
“The outage occurred from 10:30 Thursday morning until the next day at 12:30 p.m. We changed the cable and then informed the Ministry of Electricity of the problem. Consequently, they came and they kept it on until 8 p.m. The Ministry of Electricity employees then cut it again as a warning to the building owner.
“The electricity continued to be out until the next day, Saturday, at 8:30 p.m. From Sunday morning, it was out until 9:30 p.m. On Monday, the lights came back on at 2:30 p.m. and on Tuesday, the electricity was cut for only a few hours to give the generator a rest,” Al-Shatibi recounted.
“On Monday, we brought the generator from the Science and Technology University's women's section and it began working from Tuesday,” she added.
Additionally, Al-Shatibi contacted the head of university teachers to delay the students' exams and research projects for a week as a result of the circumstances they had to endure. However, one student says this isn't true, as the delay was only for fourth-level students in the dentistry department.
Regarding university services, female student's residence supervisor, Jihan Al-Afif says, “There are health care services and trips within Sana'a, for example to restaurants and Fun City, and some places outside Sana'a. There also are maintenance services more than once a week. If anyone gets sick, one of the supervisors must go with her. There's no need to go with them during the day, especially if it's not serious; however, we must go with them at night.”
Last time, we helped one girl and stayed with her until 3 p.m.,” another female student's residence supervisor Fathiya Sa'eed adds.
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[archive-e:1054-v:15-y:2007-d:2007-05-28-p:report]
