Students suffer following unrest at Islamist university

On arriving in Cairo from his village in Egypt’s Delta last month to start studies as a medical freshman at the state-run Al-Azhar University, Omar Mahrus was in for a shock. On asking when he could move into the university's state-subsidised dormitories, Mahrus was told that no date had been set for re-opening the facility.

“The employee in charge told me that maintenance works are still underway in the hostel buildings, damaged during student protests last year,” Mahrus said. “I had no other option but to look for a place outside the university to stay in. But this has cost me a lot of money."

Mahrus is one of thousands of non-Cairo students who, since the new academic year started at Al-Azhar University in October, have found themselves compelled to share rooms for high rent in privately operated hostels because the institution's dormitories are still closed.

Al-Azhar, believed to be a stronghold of Islamist students, has been hit by massive violent protests since the army deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last year.

On numerous occasions, the protests developed into clashes between the protesters and the police, ending in several student deaths and large detentions.

Higher rents

“Owners of houses near the university in Nasr City [in eastern Cairo] have taken advantage of the situation and hiked up rents, which students coming from poor families in rural areas cannot afford,” said Hassan Abdul Ghafar, a dentistry student at Al-Azhar.

“I'm living in a room with two other students on the roof of a humble house in Al-Marg,” he added, referring to a working-class area on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital. “But I have to wake up at dawn in order to be inside the lecture hall in time.”

Egyptian authorities have repeatedly accused Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood of exploiting students to cause unrest on the campuses and disrupt courses. The Islamist group has in recent weeks encouraged students to continue what it calls the “students' uprising”, accusing the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of oppression.

Last month al-Sisi, the former army chief who led Morsi’s overthrow, issued a decree under which people suspected of attacking state institutions – including universities – will face trial in military tribunals, long criticised for holding hasty proceedings and imposing harsh penalties.

Last week, five Al-Azhar students were referred to a military trial on charges of damaging facilities on the campus during an anti-government protest. The trial, for which a date has not been set, marks the first instance of applying the decree – condemned by rights advocates as unconstitutional.

Caught in the crossfire

Students from areas outside Cairo say they unfairly pay the price for the ongoing conflict between state authorities and the Muslim Brotherhood.

“Keeping the university dormitories closed is a wrong decision,” said a medical student at Al-Azhar University, who gave his name only as Ahmed, citing security concerns. “This closure angers students, who have nothing to do with politics.

“They feel that the government punishes them although they have made no mistake. This punishment prompts them to join protests against the government.”

Anybody’s guess

Officials at Al-Azhar have said that maintenance works in dormitories will be completed soon, refusing to specify a date.

“We cannot announce a definite date for students to move into dorms until we take delivery of them from contractors and make sure they are in good shape to serve students,” the university’s recently appointed President Abdul Hai Azab said.

He denied reports that the number of students staying in the university’s dorms will be cut this year. “These are mere rumours. Like the last year, 7,500 students have been approved to stay in the dorms.”