By Heba Fahmy
CAIRO: A coalition of faculty members at Egyptian public universities decided Monday to hold a nation-wide on-campus open sit-in starting July 3, to push for the resignation of interim Minister of Higher Education, Amr Salama, for ignoring the coalitions’ demands.
The demands include the resignation of university presidents and faculty deans who were allied to the former corrupt regime, the free and fair election of new heads of universities and deans, and increasing the state’s education and scientific research budget, according to a statement issued on the group’s Facebook page.
The sit-in will continue until all demands are met, the statement added.
The coalition was established following the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak after an 18-day popular revolt that started on Jan. 25. Its goal is to lobby for university professors’ demands and rights and consists of seven independent movements including the March 9 Movement that calls for the independence of universities and the April 6 Youth Movement.
“We have had prolonged discussions with the Minister of Higher Education regarding our demands for months now,” Arabic literature professor and member of March 9, Sayed El-Bahrawy, told Daily News Egypt.
“But none of them have been implemented until this day,” he said.
El-Bahrawy said that it was the professors’ right to express their demands to have decent higher education in Egypt, as long as it doesn’t hinder students’ academic future.
“We fought calls for strike action during the academic year to protect the students’ best interests,” he said, noting that the school year will end on July 3.
In May, the higher education ministry proposed that an elected committee, including faculty, students and staff, would nominate new faculty deans instead of through direct elections, but El-Bahrawy was skeptical.
“These are just void statements to keep us quiet,” he said, “It also defies the right of all professors and students to vote on who will govern our universities and faculties.”
