Cairo University agrees to allow police until end of exam period

There have been ongoing clashes between protesting students and police in recent weeks, with several students killed at the university, including one on Thursday.

 

Protests have been taking place at campuses all over Egypt since the beginning of the academic year in September, but have increased since the beginning of the exam period in December, as students who oppose the transitional authorities and support ousted president Mohamed Morsi launch demonstrations and exam boycotts.

 

Adel Abdel-Ghafar said the decision came after members of the council met on Monday as continuous clashes have been recently reported between the security guards of the university and Brotherhood students.

 

Abdel-Ghafar also said that the university council is keen to secure students, faculty and the campus itself from the recent clashes.

 

The Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim had said in a speech to graduating police officers on Monday that security forces will be pulled out of university campuses as soon as the exam period is over.

 

In light of recent unrest facing universities nationwide, Egypt's cabinet decided in November of last year to allow police forces on campus without prior authorisation from university administrators, as part of a number of the government’s anti-terrorism measures.

 

Abdel-Ghafar also said that he asked deans of all schools to secure all the control rooms and to announce the grades of the last academic term as soon as possible.

 

He also stressed that the exams for students at the faculty of law, which was scheduled to take place last Thursday, will be rescheduled.  

 

It has also been reported that the security of the university is deploying faculty members at the gates of the university to help them to check the bags of female students entering the university.

 

Since Morsi's ouster, students in support of the former president have staged a number of university protests demanding his reinstatement.