Can-India.png Canadian researcher freed from Uganda jail, back in Calgary Can-India, Toronto, Canada, 7 June 2016 Canadian researcher Curtis Riep was released from an Ugandan prison after he recorded his statement and with help from the Uganda National Teachers’ Union. The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) says that it is appalled the researcher was arrested and questioned by Ugandan police over two days because of false accusations made by an edu-business operating in that country. Curtis Riep, a PhD student at the University of Alberta, was in Uganda working legitimately on behalf of Education International (EI) to study the impact of Bridge International Academies Ltd. (BIA), it was stated. The company runs a chain of ‘low fee’ for-profit schools in Uganda as well as in Kenya, Nigeria and soon, Liberia. Police arrested Riep for “criminal trespass and impersonation as a staff of Bridge International Academies. “He was arrested from Café Javas Restaurant in Old Kampala by police officers from the Criminal Investigation Department of Old Kampala Police Station. He was then transferred to Kyengera police post where he recorded a statement. Curtis Riep-300x263.png Curtis Riep In his own words, Riep explains: “The senior police officer investigating the case explained to me that BIA accused me of being an “enemy of Bridge” but they could not clarify what that meant exactly.” On the day he was released, Riep says the police sat down with him and urged him to use caution because they suspected BIA would try to prevent him from conducting research. “The police cautioned me not to go out at night, to move to a more secure hotel, not to interact with anyone I didn’t know, to restrict my movements, and to protect my research data and the information I had already collected on BIA,” says Riep who is now back at home in Calgary. For her part, CTF President Heather Smith adds: “BIA’s attempt at intimidation demonstrates how the company fears transparency about its own operations. We know their practices have been the subject of significant criticism, including the employment of unqualified staff delivering a scripted standardised curriculum in inadequate school facilities. “Our heartfelt thanks go to our partner organization, the Uganda National Teachers’ Union for coming to Riep’s defence — as if he were one of their members,” explains Smith. “We are also extremely grateful to the Canadian embassy for its help in securing Riep’s safe release.” BIA’s expansion plans were recently halted by the Ugandan government for its failure to meet regulatory requirements applicable to schools. Its operations are supported by global edu-business Pearson, billionaires Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, DfID-UK and the World Bank, among others. Founded in 1920, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation is a national alliance of provincial and territorial teacher organizations that represent over 200,000 elementary and secondary school teachers across Canada. CTF is also a member of the 32-million member Education International. – CNW From: <http://www.canindia.com/canadian-researcher-freed-from-uganda-jail-back-in- calgary/> http://www.canindia.com/canadian-researcher-freed-from-uganda-jail-back-in-c algary/ -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/yclsa-eom-forum/002401d1c146%24b97689c0%242c639d40%24%40com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
