11 Oct 2010

Students and teachers at French Polynesia University strike over planned cuts

6:23 am on 11 October 2010

Students and teachers at the University of French Polynesia have held an unprecedented strike over planned cuts and they say they will continue their action this week.

About 250 students and 35 teachers have marched in a protest in Tahiti to express their opposition to the cuts which they say are being pushed through in a climate of fear.

A spokesperson for the students says before the strike there was a warning that students going on strike might not get a degree.

The university is pushing for reforms as more than 80% of students fail to complete their studies.

Among the courses to be dropped are some in teaching and in English, which one professor described as an aberration as the Pacific is Anglophone region.