Edito:  The schedule for elections of academic structures at the university has finally been revealed

Pursuant to Circular No. 18/24 dated March 11, 2024, the elections have begun for new faculty representatives in higher education institutions, whose mandate will  begin on August 1, 2024.

As per the same decree, the rules and conditions of the 2020 elections will remain in effect. University presidents must provide the supervisory ministry with a detailed schedule of the electoral process by May 15, 2024. The process includes updating the voter list by May 10 and displaying it on May 20. The election of university presidents and their vice-presidents will take place between July 8 and 24, 2024. The intermediate stages involve the elections of department councils (between May 27 and 29), heads of departments (between May 30 and June 7), members of academic councils (between June 10 and 22), deans and directors (between June 10 and July 6), and university councils (between July 8 and 16).

The publication of this circular brought great relief to the academic community. In 2023, persistent rumors circulated about a potential return to the practice of appointing senior officials in academic structures. The mandates of the current elected officials were set to expire at the end of 2023, but as of May 2023, no announcement had been made. This fueled the widely spread rumor, considered credible by many academics.

Despite efforts to contain the rumor, it persisted and became ingrained in the daily life of the Tunisian academic community. The ministry's letter of June 8, 2023, calling for an evaluation of the election process for educational structures used in the previous four sessions, failed to dispel the rumor. Instead, it further stirred it up. On June 7, the University of Manouba council meeting extensively discussed the current form of the electoral law and the evaluation submitted by the ministry on May 29. This evaluation was then circulated to various academic structures for consultation. Following the guidelines provided by UMA, the university officials consulted their academic advisors regarding the eight main themes outlined in the 2020 circular, including the duration and number of mandates, the period, and the conditions and procedures of elections.

On July 17, a summary of the consultation was presented to the UMA council, and the University of Manouba's four-point opinion was shared with the supervisory authority.

During the discussion, the council expressed concerns about the objectives of the evaluation and requested clarification from the supervisory authority regarding rumors of a return to old practices of appointing officials. The UMA reaffirmed its commitment to democratic elections as a fundamental principle.During the meeting, a major criticism was raised regarding the timing of the consultation. The council believed that the allotted time for evaluation was insufficient, especially considering the busy end-of-year period for academic councils and colleagues. As a result, they requested an announcement of the schedule as soon as possible in order to respect the current elected officials at all levels.

In addition, the elected officials proposed connecting the evaluation to a larger reflection on the governance system of university institutions. They suggested separating the academic council from the board of directors, emphasizing the need to enhance the status of administrative responsibilities both socially and economically. They also called for clearer definitions of the roles and prerogatives of elected officials, exclusive management responsibilities, training in governance, and necessary resources to achieve their objectives. These measures would help attract the most competent individuals for administrative roles.

To address subjective evaluations and offer alternative options, the elected officials called for the creation of a comparative benchmark table of international practices. This table would help identify best practices within the context of national experience.

The evaluation method proposed by the UMA was successful in structuring debates and producing results. The majority of elected officials did not express significant criticism of the current system. However, there were divergent views on the duration and number of mandates. Some wished to maintain the status quo, while others wanted to increase the duration or reduce the number of mandates to one. Discussions also took place regarding universal suffrage and the involvement of student and administrative representatives in elections for deans, directors, and rectors. There was also a recognition of the need to review and clarify the process for filling vacancies on academic councils.

Nevertheless, there was consensus on the importance of conducting an annual evaluation of elected officials' achievements, as well as a desire to return to the traditional election schedule starting in May. The elections in 2017 and 2020 were considered exceptions to this schedule.

During a meeting on August 1, 2023, the university council reaffirmed its commitment to the principle of electing representatives within educational institutions and universities. They decided to change the election period and extend the mandates of current elected officials until July 31, 2024. The council also committed to an ongoing consultation process to improve the electoral system for future deadlines.

Despite these decisions, rumors persisted until the issuance of ministerial circular no. 18/24 on March 11, 2024, which definitively clarified the situation and reassured the academic community.With all of that settled, let's begin the process and may the best candidate emerge victorious!

 Pr. Jouhaina Ghérib

President

The University of Manouba