US embassy cable - 05ABIDJAN944

UNCLAS ABIDJAN 000944 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, PGOV, ELAB, IV, Ivoirean Govt Arrears 
SUBJECT: COTE D'IVOIRE: CLOSED PRIVATE SCHOOLS, WORRIED 
STUDENTS 
 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  Since May 17 the owners of secondary- and 
university-level private schools have kept their institutions 
closed in protest over nonpayment of government subsidies. 
According to the owners, the government owes them a total of 
USD 37 million for the years 2003 through 2005.  On June 7 
there was a demonstration of approximately 300 private high 
school students in front of the Municipal Building to demand 
the reopening of the schools.  The government will likely 
feel mounting pressure from the growing number of its own 
people to whom it is failing to meet its obligations.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) In the 1990s, because the public school system 
infrastructure could not meet enrollment demand, the 
government enlisted the help of private schools.  Students 
who cannot find space at the public schools can enroll in 
private schools, with the government subsidizing their 
tuition.  The government subsidizes about 75 percent of an 
authorized student's tuition.  Depending on the course of 
study, tuition can range from USD 400 to USD 1200 per year. 
 
3. (U) There are over 100 private schools, high school- 
through university-level, located in large city centers such 
as Abidjan and Yamoussoukro.  There are about 50,000 students 
in the private school system with subsidized tuition. 
 
4. (U) According to the private school owners at the start of 
the closures, the government owed a total of USD 44 million: 
 
- USD 8 million for arrears from 2003. 
- USD 16 million for returning authorized students in 
2004-2005. 
- USD 20 million for new authorized students in 2005. 
 
5. (U) The Public Treasury says it has no records of these 
amounts owed, but is waiting for direction from the Ministry 
of Higher Education.  The Minister of Higher Education, 
Fofana Zemogo, met with the owners on May 26 and granted USD 
seven million towards the owners' claims, bringing the 
totaled owed down to USD 37 million.  However, the owners say 
the minimum they will accept to reopen their schools is USD 
24 million. 
 
7. (U) Today, June 7, three weeks after the private schools 
closed, 300 private high school students staged a non-violent 
demonstration in front of the Cite Administrative (Municipal 
Building), protesting the continued closure of the schools 
and demanding to meet with the Minister of Higher Education. 
For the students, if schools do not reopen in time to hold 
final exams, they will not be able to move up to the next 
grade this fall.  There may be more of these student 
demonstrations if the situation remains unresolved.  (NOTE: 
It is unlikely that final exams will be cancelled, but they 
could be postponed for a few months.) 
 
8. (SBU) COMMENT.  The threat of cancelled final exams gives 
the private school owners a strong bargaining chip in 
negotiating with the government.  However, it may not be 
enough leverage to get the government to pay the full amount 
claimed.  The government is behind on its payments to many 
parties, from teachers to police to the World Bank.  Arrears 
to the private schools, going back as far as 2003, are 
another sign of the serious, continuing deterioration in the 
government's finances.  Neglecting education and public 
safety while agreeing to make generous pension payments to 
retired government officials is also a sign of how misplaced 
the government's priorities are.  Over the next few months, 
as election day draws nearer, the government is likely to 
feel mounting pressure from the growing number of its own 
people to whom it is failing to meet its obligations -- 
students, teachers, private school owners, police officers, 
soldiers, and civil servants.  END COMMENT. 
HOOKS