Newly elected UGET executive committee unveils its new composition

Tunis: The newly elected executive committee of the General Union of Tunisian Students (UGET) unveiled its new composition on Wednesday, during a press conference held at the headquarters of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT). This new committee will contribute on a national scale to enhancing the social conditions of students and condemning normalisation with the Zionist entity, UGET President Montassar Ben Salem said. He expressed solidarity with journalists detained under Decree 54, specifying that the new executive committee will work towards the rehabilitation of UGET and the achievement of students' demands, aimed at preserving democratic education, reforming higher education, and improving students' lives. 'The students' organisation aims to bolster principles of freedom of expression, press freedom, and union and political action in the country, while condemning normalisation with the Zionist entity.' The UGET president underscored that the situation within universities has witnesse d deterioration in terms of freedom of expression due to the implementation of Decree-Law 54 and encroachments on union freedom. He noted that a number of students in Beja, Sousse, Bizerte, and Tunis have been summoned before disciplinary boards after participating in protests. Ben Salem outlined the difficulties faced by students within universities in terms of education (BMD system), infrastructure of university facilities, lack of administrative staff and agents in dormitories, stating that only 14 out of 74 university canteens meet quality standards. He indicated that the recent congress of the union, held on May 25 and 26 in Tunis, saw the participation of 86% of the 963 registered participants, in addition to 267 observers affiliated with UGET, representing 107 bureaus. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse