Following clashes over dormitory assignments, the University of Antsiranana has suspended classes and temporarily closed its campus. Students, deprived of housing, find themselves without any fallback options.
The distribution of new housing has been suspended, teaching and research activities have been interrupted, and the campus has been temporarily closed. These measures, announced Friday evening by the expanded OMC and the presidency of the University of Antsiranana, follow clashes between students over the allocation of rooms in a new university building. In this climate of fear, some students find themselves in a particularly worrying situation: without family or relatives in the city, they do not know where to go after the campus closure.
The situation escalated on Friday morning, pitting students from the Sofia and Sava regions against those from the Diana region. At the heart of the dispute is the allocation of rooms in a new R+1 university building, recently handed over by the President of the Refoundation of the Republic of Madagascar, Michaël Randrianirina.
Students grouped within the SAVA-U and TESOMIA associations contest the dormitory distribution methods. They deem the sharing inequitable, arguing that their regions are among the most represented at the university. In a statement released in the evening, they also denounced what they consider to be unequal treatment among students.
Conversely, representatives of thirteen student associations from other regions defend a different position. They assert that the distribution has already been carried out and refuse to call it into question. They also accuse their opponents of not respecting decisions made during consultations or of not belonging to their platform.
The dispute escalated into stone-throwing between the two groups. Students were injured, and the new university building reportedly suffered damage. Beyond the clashes, the situation has created a climate of fear on campus. According to student testimonies, groups reportedly broke into housing in circumstances described as a real “manhunt.” Fearing for their safety, some packed their belongings to leave the premises in a hurry.
But leaving is not necessarily a solution. For students from other regions who have neither family nor relatives in Antsiranana, the campus closure poses an immediate question: where to find refuge? Deprived of their housing, some find themselves without a fallback solution, even as the announced measures prohibit them from moving within the university grounds.
Law enforcement, led by Prefect Huberto Dellaris, intervened to try to control the situation and restore order.
In their statement, the expanded OMC and the university presidency announced the suspension of new housing distribution until further notice, as well as the cessation of all teaching and research activities. The campus is temporarily closed as an emergency measure.
Movement within the campus is prohibited starting Friday, October 16, at 7:00 PM. The removal of goods and the transport of personal effects are also prohibited to prevent potential abuses.
While the conflict over room allocation criteria remains unresolved, the priority is now to restore security. The situation of students without housing or local family support also raises the question of what measures should be taken to allow them to find shelter.
Captured & Published at: 2026-10-17 06:08:47 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/10/antsiranana-les-cours-suspendus-des.html