Students at University of The Gambia Protest Over Transport, Facilities and Welfare

Getting to class has become a daily ordeal for Muhammed Lamin Jallow, a student at the University of The Gambia's School of Arts and Sciences. He travels about 40 km (25 miles) from home to the Faraba Banta campus and relies on university buses to do so, but finding a seat is far from guaranteed.

"Sometimes, it feels like survival of the fittest," Jallow told Al Jazeera. "We compete as to who gets in first, who gets to sit, who gets to stand and who goes to school and who does not."

Jallow was among hundreds of students who protested at the university on Monday, carrying complaints about transportation, campus facilities and student welfare to the vice chancellor's office. Lectures have since resumed after the government promised to improve campus services. Students are also demanding that Vice Chancellor Herbert Robinson and the director of student affairs resign, accusing them of failing in their duties. That dispute has not been settled.

The Students' Union says the problems affect more than 12,000 students, many of whom depend on university buses. After the protest, Higher Education Minister Professor Pierre Gomez visited the campus with university representatives and officials from the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. The Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology said the Gambia Transport Service Company had deployed 20 buses to help move students.

Students had also complained about limited access to safe drinking water, affordable food and unreliable internet. The ministry said cafeterias across the university were ready to serve students and staff, though it gave no details on prices or availability at individual outlets. It acknowledged that more filtration was needed to make campus water safe to drink, said water jars and dispensers had been placed at designated points, and said the National Water and Electricity Company had been consulted. On connectivity, it said work was under way to extend internet access to the newly built Schools of Agriculture and Law, with completion expected within a week. The statement did not confirm that the work was finished.

Ismaila Fadera, the students' union president, said he raised the cafeteria closures with Robinson on October 20. He quoted the vice chancellor as saying: "Mister president, I have the student interest at heart, but we must balance this against administrative processes and compliance." Fadera said Robinson added that he had carried his own water and food to university as a student.

Learning facilities are another source of frustration, especially for courses that require hands-on training. Abubacarr Manneh, president of the University of The Gambia Medical Students Association, said the School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences in Banjul has overcrowded classrooms, poor ventilation, faulty electrical sockets and too few projectors and smartboards. Medical, nursing and postgraduate nursing students share the same space, and he voiced concern about a promised simulation laboratory that has yet to materialize. Journalism student Sukai Fatajo said her school needs radio and television studios. "We deserve better, and our demands must be met," she said. The students' union has also called for working science laboratories, better facilities at the medical school and adequate staffing.

For some, the journey itself carries real danger. Kumba Leigh, a journalism student, was attacked by a knife-wielding assailant one morning in April while walking to a bus stop in her hometown of Bakau. She had left early to try to get a seat. The attacker threatened to kill her unless she handed over her bag, and when she resisted, he struck her on the head and shoulder, cut the bag and dislocated her right arm. A nearby shopkeeper stepped in and the assailant fled.

Months later, Leigh still has pain in her arm and suffers from trauma. "No one should have to risk their life simply to travel to school," she told Al Jazeera, calling for stronger security and more police patrols. The ministry said it would keep working with the university, the students' union and other stakeholders to monitor how its promises are carried out.