Exams start in Azhar University despite student boycotts and disruptions

Al-Azhar's student union says it supports students boycotting semester exams in the protest stricken university

Students at Al-Azhar University in the male campus prevented professors and administrators from entering campus Sunday and boycotted semester exams.
Most of the protesting students are supporters of former president Mohamed Morsi.
A number of professors from the faculties of agriculture, education, pharmacy, languages and translation on the campus decided to leave after unsuccessful negotiations with the students to let them access the university.
Security forces had been deployed in front of the campus to secure it for exams.
In a statement posted on their official Facebook page, the Al-Azhar Student Union showed support for students who decided not to attend exams and also asked for the support of the rest of the student body.
The administrators of the page also stressed that if students decided not to take exams, according to the rules and regulations of the organisations of universities, exams will be rescheduled to the following semester. They said they aim to help students who were detained in protests and clashes.
In the faculty of agriculture, students entered the exam room, but tore apart the answers sheet as part of their call for boycott.
Exams took place, however, at the female campus, even though dozens of students from the faculty of humanities who are supporters of Morsi surrounded professors during oral exams to convince the rest of their colleagues not to attend.
Loud noisemakers and slogans were used as an act of inviting other students to boycott exams and strike with them. One of the slogans that were chanted: "My brother died and you are asking me to study and attend exams?”
A professor in the humanities faculty told the Al-Ahram Arabic news website that she was surrounded by student supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood for an hour and a half. She tried to convince them to take the exam, but they refused. She also said that she contacted the dean of the school to ask for the intervention of security forces but the dean refused.
The professor stressed that all the exams took place today as scheduled but expressed her doubts about the exams scheduled for 28 December.
From the start of the academic year in September, pro-Morsi student protests have taken place at a number of campuses across the country.
Al-Azhar University has witnessed violent clashes between security forces and students since the start of its academic year in October.
Students have been protesting for weeks to denounce the detention of tens of Azhar colleagues who were rounded up during clashes with police on campus.
In November, a pro-Morsi student was shot dead during clashes with security forces at Al-Azhar University.
Earlier in November, 12 Al-Azhar university students were sentenced to 17 years in prison over riots in October at Al-Azhar Institution which oversees the university. They were found guilty of attempting to storm the headquarters of the institution, inciting riots and attacking Al-Azhar employees and security personnel, as well as sabotaging public and private property.
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