Tunisian students protest ongoing teachers' strike

Civil Servants stage a protest within the public officials’ strike, demanding the rise of their salary in Tunis, Tunisia on 17 January, 2019 [Yassine Gaidi/Anadolu Agency]

Tens of thousands of Tunisian students staged protests on Monday to demand an end to an ongoing teachers’ strike, reports Anadolu Agency.

On January 9, preparatory and secondary school teachers staged demonstrations across the country to demand wage increases and educational reform.

Last week, after negotiations broke down between Tunisia’s High School Teachers’ Union and the Education Ministry, teachers announced an open-ended strike countrywide.

READ: Tunisian union calls for another nationwide strike to press wage demands

“The students are being held hostage to our outmoded educational policies,” high school student Lina Bukhari told Anadolu Agency.

“If the crisis continues, we won’t be able to take final exams,” she added.

In Tunisia, more than 77,000 preparatory and secondary teachers are responsible for teaching some 950,000 students.

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