Guinean police and military fired tear gas to disperse angry high-school students on Monday who tried to stage street protests after they failed to sit final exams due to a teachers’ strike.
In the capital, police and soldiers fired tear gas to keep away several thousands of students chanting ”Change, change” who tried to march on President Lansana Conte’s palace situated in downtown Conakry.
Earlier the students had built barricades with school desks, chairs and tyres in the streets outside the largest examination centre in Conakry’s Kipe suburb before police dispersed them with tear gas.
An Agence France-Presse reporter at the scene witnessed no casualties.
Clashes between students and police were also reported in Labe town, about 400km north of Conakry, where tear gas was used to break up the demonstrations.
The government of strongman Conte — who has ruled with an iron grip since 1984 when he seized power in a bloodless coup — had last week warned it would be ”merciless” with any troublemakers during the strike.
In Pita, about 350km north of the capital, restive students raided the local education authority’s office and threw documents on to the streets, according to witnesses reached by telephone.
Tens of thousands of Guinean high-school students failed to sit their final examinations on Monday because teachers refused to supervise them as part of a general strike over worsening living conditions launched on Thursday.
Baccalaureate examinations, the final pre-university tests, did not start in five centres visited by an Agence France-Presse reporter on Monday morning as well as in several others across the capital, according to various sources.
More than 94 000 students were due to start their secondary-school examinations in the West African country.
The Professional Education Union Federation and the Guinea Independent Teachers’ and Researchers’ Union said at the weekend their strike would continue until their demands were met.
Teachers — as are other government workers — are demanding a four-fold increase in salaries and a reduction in the price of petrol, which went up by 30% last month.
Unions also complain that corruption and poor management are endemic in the Guinean government.
Elsewhere, the work stoppage was generally followed on Monday with the majority of offices and commercial enterprises shut while traffic on the roads was greatly reduced. — Sapa-AFP