EGYPT

Uproar mounts over university policing
A decision by Egypt's military-installed government, giving police a role in securing the country's restive universities, has raised fears of much-hated security agencies' interference in academic life – again.Interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi recently ordered police to be posted near universities to assist the institutions' civilian security guards in checking the identity cards of students before they enter campuses.
The controversial move came after violent protests by students backing ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, held at Al Azhar University, a major Islamic seminary headquartered in Cairo.
Police entered Al Azhar campus on 30 October for the first time in three years, in response to a request for help by the university authorities, who accused the pro-Morsi students of storming and ransacking administrative offices.
"Police should not be allowed to operate inside or outside the campus," said Laila Sewif, a Cairo University professor and staunch advocate of university independence.
“The prime minister has no right to make this decision, which threatens academic independence. Police's practices provoke students and this will lead to further trouble," she added.
In 2010, an Egyptian court ordered that police guards be removed from campuses and be replaced with civilian security personnel.
However, administrators at several Egyptian universities have recently complained that civilian security guards are unable to maintain order amid violent protests over the army's July overthrow of Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president.
The government has said that police will enter campuses to stop violence only after their help is sought by university presidents and with approval from prosecutors.
“The presence of police in the vicinity of the campus is necessary in view of current security circumstances and until the end of the crisis being experienced in universities,” Ezz Eddin Abu Steit, vice president of state-run Cairo University, told the independent newspaper Al Masry Al Youm.
Universities in the country have been rocked by mass protests held by pro-Morsi students since the new academic year started in late September. On several occasions, students supporting and opposing Morsi clashed on campus, leaving dozens injured.
Security agencies wielded clout at universities during the 30-year era of Morsi's predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, who was forced from power in a 2011 uprising. The Mubarak police were accused of stifling academic freedom, harassing opposition students and having a say in appointing top administrators in universities.
"The idea of allowing police back to universities in any form is unacceptable," said Hesham Ashraf, the head of Cairo University's student union. "This will be a disaster and students of different political leanings will not allow this to happen."
Ashraf suggested that instead of reinstating police, universities should recruit more civilian security guards and train them properly for the job. "We reject the police's return to deal with university students in any way because they have not reformed themselves."
Higher Education Minister Hossam Issa has vowed that police guards will not reappear on campuses. "I will resign if this happens. They will stand outside university walls and will only enter if the university's administration requests their assistance in ending a riot," said Issa, a law professor.