ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Students at the prestigious American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS) were on Thursday staging their third day of protests in a row to demand that the university slash tuition fees per a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) decree.
KRG’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research issued a decree on October 17, 2019, stipulating that all private universities and higher education institutes decrease tuition fees by 25 percent. The document is signed by Dr. Aram Mohammed Qadir, Minister of Higher Education.
However, following inquiries by AUIS students - some of whom pay up to $5,000 per semester - the university has said it is financially incapable of implementing the decision.
Established in 2007, AUIS describes itself as a not-for-profit university that offers liberal arts education, an unprecedented system for the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. The university offers 13 undergraduate programs, and one master’s program.
Among its founders is Barham Salih, the current President of Iraq. According to its own figures, the university has received donations totaling over 100 million dollars. Donors have included then Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani.
Three Kurdish AUIS students spoke to Rudaw English anonymously, providing a copy of a November 10 email they had received from Wolfgang Hinck, Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) at the university.
“As an official Ministry-recognized not-for-profit university, AUIS does not have owners or investors who seek financial gain; instead, similar to a government university, we solely serve the public benefit,” Hinck wrote.
In the email, Hinck claims revenue from tuition fees “cover only 60%” of AUIS’ operating costs. The remainder is “subsidized by external individuals, institutions, and government entities”, the VPAA claims. However, he does not directly or explicitly address the issue of tuition fee cuts.
Over one hundred dissatisfied students staged sit-ins at the university’s main cafeteria building. They provided Rudaw English with photos and videos of the protests. VPAA Hinck was seen among the students, urging them to give him time.
Rudaw English contacted the university’s communications office via telephone and email for official comment concerning the protests, but received no response.
The protesting students who spoke to Rudaw English wished to remain anonymous, recounting how students who participated in protests in 2017 received strikes to their academic record.
“Our main demand is a 25% cut in our tuition fees, as decreed by the [KRG’s] Ministry of Higher Education,” AUIS student Cudi* told Rudaw English via voice message on Wednesday.
The students want reasonable justification as to why the university is avoiding meet the government decree, the 23-year-old added. He says the university imposes more fees and increases existing ones whenever it faces financial issues.
“We as AUIS students don’t wish to pay the price of mismanagement of the university. This is their problem, and they need to solve it.”
But if there is no university willingness to address demands, then “we might take the protests to outside the university campus,” he added, calling on the Ministry of Higher Education to express support for the students.
The students are using social media to raise awareness for their campaign beyond campus walls, using the #AUISProtests hashtag on Twitter to share slogans. “Non profit? Show us the numbers,” reads one.
“I am part of the protests because I believe they are an important mechanism to obtain our rights with. We will continue protesting,” Agri*, another male student, told Rudaw on Wednesday via Facebook voice message. “We believe the university’s decision will change if we speak up, if a lot of students come demanding their rights.”
A third student, Ararat*, explained to Rudaw English on Wednesday via Twitter that demands stretch beyond implementation of the KRG decree. The students want their 11 pm dormitory curfew eased, for extra-curricular activities to increase, and for non-senior students to be allowed to take extra classes.
“The activities a high-class university should offer are not observable at AUIS. We have minimum number of exchange programs, scientific trips, and on-campus social activities. We have lost all of them since 2014,” Ararat said.
He explained that the 2014 financial crisis in the Kurdistan Region caused a tightening of university purse strings, forcing many extracurricular activities to be cut. However, he believes students are being made to bear the brunt of financial hardships that have since eased.
“The university repeatedly tells us self-made or calculated numbers or figures of their costs. We know the university is not alone. There are donors and stakeholders that contribute financially to the university. It is insane we have been deprived of any activity since 2014 in the name of ‘austerity’,” Ararat said.
The three students told Rudaw English they would continue to protest until the university met their demands.
“I believe that if we continue, if all students remain united, we can make the university implement the [Ministry of Higher Education] decree,” Cudi said.
Rudaw contacted the KRG Ministry of Higher Education for comment on whether universities could avoid implementing their decree, but the ministry spokesperson was not available for comment.
*Editor’s note: The three students have been given the pseudonyms Cudi, Agri, and Ararat to protect their anonymity.
