University professors continue partial strike with student support

Professors start the new school year by refusing to teach unless government dismisses Mubarak-era presidents, with considerable student backing for demands

Professors in Ain Shams University in Cairo, one of Egypt's largest public education institutions, continued on Monday a partial strike they started on the first day of the new school year demanding the president of the university resign.
Sunday, 2500 students protested at the headquarters of the university in solidarity with professors' demands.
“Students announced that if the head of the university did not resign they will join professors in their strike at the beginning of next week”, Al-Akhbar newspaper reports.
In Alexandria University, professors and students continue a similar strike to force out the current leadership of that school.
In Helwan University, south of Cairo, employees staged a protest on Mondayto call for pay raises higher than the 200 per cent the government offered to government workers.
A number of protests were also held in universities in different Egyptian governorates, calling for similar demands.
Yesterday, 500 students protested Sunday to support their professors in Cairo University.
During the summer, a crisis had developed between university professors and the ruling military council over the academic elections.
The Cabinet had promised last spring to remove all current university heads in Egypt - who were appointed by the old regime - to be replaced through an elections system.
But, the ruling military council refused to ratify the cabinet's planned move.
Consequently, the cabinet shifted course and asked university heads to voluntarily resign.
9 March Movement, an activist rank and file movement which led major struggles against Mubarak in the past, has announced in a press conference last September that professors will strike if the academic year begins with no decisions taken to remove university heads.