Students angry as universities bring forward exams

Egypt's state-run universities, hit by months of anti-government protests, have brought forward end-of-year examinations by three weeks - drawing angry reactions from students.

The Higher Council of Universities, a state-run body in charge of academic policy in Egypt, recently announced that the exams will begin in early May rather than late May as has been the case in past years. Egypt's presidential elections will be held on 26-27 May.

"This is ridiculous," said Hassan Farghali, a law student at the Cairo-based Ain Shams University. "This academic year has been the worst in the history of Egyptian universities because of the frequent clashes between police and Muslim Brotherhood students.

"We are now paying the price for this unrest."

Almost daily protests

Students backing deposed president Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood have staged almost daily protests demanding his reinstatement since the start of the academic year in September.

Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, was removed by the military last July following massive street protests against his one-year rule. His supporters have called his overthrow a coup and vowed non-stop protests until he is restored to power.

There were more student protests last Wednesday, with security forces clashing with students and using teargas to disperse them at Al-Azhar University, one of the institutions worst hit by demonstrations.

The students were demanding reversal of the exam date decision, and there were also reportedly pro-Morsi student protests in the provinces of Qalioubiya in the Nile Delta, Beni Suef in central Egypt and Assiut in the south.

Not enough time to learn

"The idea of advancing the date of exams is very bad," said Sayyed Mahmoud, a science student at Ain Shams University. "The second term started in March, nearly a month behind schedule. Lectures were usually short and disrupted by violence on the campus. We have not got enough time to prepare for exams."

Presidents of the universities have admitted that shortening the academic year has been forced by political violence on campuses. They have also said that exam questions will be limited to parts of syllabuses already taught in classes.

For Mahmoud, this is another bad idea.

"It may be easy to drop classes and remove parts of subjects in faculties with theoretical studies. But this is difficult to do in faculties teaching practical subjects like faculties of science, veterinary and engineering.

"Therefore, early exams will harm students' academic levels."

Students at Alexandria University, another state-run institution, have threatened to stage an open sit-in on the campus unless the decision is reversed.

"This decision has been taken without consulting students' unions," said Mahmoud Radwan, head of the Alexandria University student union. "This decision has landed students in a dilemma and shown that the state authorities are more interested in security and political issues than education," he told the semi-official newspaper Al Akhbar.

Cairo University, Egypt's biggest public academic institution, set 23 April as the last day for lectures, announcing that the examinations will start on 3 May.

"Deans of different faculties have agreed to advance the date of exams due to the exceptional circumstances being experienced by the country," the university said in a statement last week. Hundreds of students have since held protests against the decision.

Cairo University has for months been a hub for pro-Morsi protests, which have often developed into violent clashes with police. Earlier this month, a police general was killed in a bomb explosion near the university. The military-backed government blamed the attack on pro-Morsi insurgents and tightened security around universities.

Deploying security forces on campuses

The Higher Council of Universities has said the exams will be suspended for a week due to Egypt's presidential elections, which will be held on 26-27 May amid tight security.

Meeting for the second time in less than a month, the council last Wednesday authorised presidents of universities to ask security forces to deploy on campuses "as they see fit" to protect examination boards from potential violence.