Hassan Ibrahim / DNE
Hassan Ibrahim
A group of striking Nile University students organised a protest, Saturday, at the Press Syndicate demanding the right to use university buildings which have been given to another institution, the Zuweil City for Science and Technology.
Strikers held banners demanding that Nile University becomes a civil university instead of a private-owned one, a move which might strengthen their claim to the disputed land. Striker Nancy Mustafa, told Daily News Egypt that the strike also denounced the violent termination of their on-campus sit-in last week.
On Monday, 21st day of the strike, five students protesting at Nile University were arrested and others were forcibly and violently removed as police cleared the campus of demonstrators.
Mustafa told Daily News Egypt that more protesters are expected to join from MSA University as well as the April 6 movement. She also confirmed the Nile University strike was still ongoing outside the university campus, saying, “we shall not leave until our demands are met.”
The sit-in began in early September against the government’s decision to appropriate university buildings and give them to the Zuweil City for Science and Technology. Both universities claim they have the right to the buildings.
A solution was offered by a cabinet committee formed by Prime Minister Hesham Qandil in a statement they released a week ago.
The committee had recommended that Nile University could use the buildings and laboratories of the Educational City in 6th of October while Zuweil City would be allowed to use the disputed Nile University buildings for one year. This proposition was rejected.
