(Photo by Haleem El Shaarani)
(File Photo)
By Nourhan Dakroury
The Misr International University (MIU) administration issued a statement on Friday saying that they will start collaborating with the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces to build a pedestrian bridge connecting the two sides of the Cairo-Ismailia road to ensure a safe environment for the students.
Students at MIU had held multiple protests and sit-ins earlier this year demanding the construction of the bridge, after cases occurred where students were hit by cars while crossing the road.
“Official papers for the construction of the bridge were filed in December 2012, but it was pending the military’s approval,” said Ahmed Nozahi, a member of the Students’ Union at MIU.
“The military finally approved the construction in April,” Nozahi said.
After the collapse of a nearby pedestrian bridge in April, the Military Engineering Authority has been working on the engineering aspects of the upcoming bridge, Nozahi said.
The statement also highlighted that the Student Affairs Council, which was formed on 13 April, has been working on students’ complaints since then and has been trying to address them.
The council includes the deans of all seven colleges at MIU, Nozahi said.
The statement also announced that the university is currently working on a Code of Conduct determining student interaction with the university and its officials.
The Code of Conduct will be presented to Students Union in June for discussion, according to Nozahi.
He said that the students’ sit-in has been ongoing since the first protests started, demanding the removal of MIU Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of Mass Communication, Hamdy Hassan.
Nozahi added that students eventually had agreed to compromise his total removal for just his removal from the Students Affair Council, since they claimed that he does not deal well with students.
Sarah Mohamed, an MIU student protester, said that the sit-in will continue until the six reports filed against MIU students, in which they were accused of attempted murder and vandalising property, are dropped.
The statement also said that the legal adviser of the Ministry of Higher Education, together with the legal representatives of both the parties involved, must be present at any investigation, ensuring that both students and the university would have full access to their legal and administrative rights.
