University presidents and faculty deans will now be elected, not selected, reports Reem Leila For the past two decades the higher education system in Egypt evolved in the shadow of Hosni Mubarak's sovereignty, being a mirror of his controlling regime. Since 1994, university presidents and deans were directly selected by the minister of higher education. After the ousting of Mubarak, the system has come to a screeching halt. University professors are now moving swiftly towards reforming the system in which university presidents and deans will now be elected, not selected. Within the next few days a committee which consists of five university professors and formed by the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technology Amr Ezzat Salama will restructure the phrasing of a draft according to which presidents of Egypt's 18 government universities will be elected. The committee will also identify the criteria according to which deans of faculties will be appointed. The final draft will be presented to Prime Minister Essam Sharaf for approval who will in turn submit it to the Higher Council of the Armed Forces (HCAF). Awatef Abdel-Rahman, professor at Cairo University's Faculty of Mass Communication and a member of the committee, said the committee was formed after Salama refused to ask university presidents and faculty deans to resign, claiming he had no authority to do so. According to the committee's recommendations, all university officials will be requested to run in university elections. "Instead of requesting them to resign, they will be asked by the university to nominate themselves to whatever post they would like. Current leaders will also have the right to run in the coming elections," stated Abdel-Rahman. Abdel-Rahman added that among the set criteria for electing a university president, the nominee must be among the active deans of any of the university's faculties. "Only active faculty deans of the same university will be allowed to run for this post. Outsiders are prohibited." Among other criteria for electing a university president are scientific, administrative and ethical efficiency. The nominee for the post of university president must have a future vision in developing and improving the university in addition to his ability to communicate with the university's staff. Professors demanded that new administrations, including heads of department, be selected by faculty members in fair elections. "The new elections, scheduled to begin on 1 August, will be held in a free and democratic atmosphere," said Abdel-Rahman. Many university professors point out that during Mubarak's presidency, university presidents and deans were appointed according to State Security reports and recommendations, which were based on loyalty to the former regime. Most of the current university heads were members of the then-ruling but now dismantled National Democratic Party (NDP). Mohamed Abul-Ghar, a member of the 9 March movement and the committee, argued that electing university leaders was the best way to achieve transparency in appointments, while selecting presidents, deans or department heads should be a competitive process. Abul-Ghar said only professors who have been tenured for at least five years have the right to run for deans. Heads of departments should be elected among a faculty's active tenured professors who have been working in the department for at least three years. "For the first time in university history all of the faculty's staff members will be allowed to vote in elections. Some 10 per cent of lecturers and assistant lecturers are to be permitted to vote. This is unlike the past when only tenured professors were allowed to vote to choose department heads," said Abul-Ghar. University academics believe that electing university leaders will help in better serving the society. Abul-Ghar quoted a survey conducted last year by the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD): "Egypt's higher education system is not properly serving the country's requirements, and without overall reform there will be no economic and social progress." Abul-Ghar said that both reports warn that Egypt's public universities are in dire need of structural reforms in order to better serve the society. This is in addition to the need for more flexibility and efficiency in governance and institutional management of the country's universities. Both Abul-Ghar and Abdel-Rahman confirmed that students will not be allowed to participate in the elections. "Students are to sit for their final exams and enjoy their summer vacation and leave professional work to us, the professors. Legally, they do not have the right to participate in any of the elections. They can express their opinion but what happened at the Faculty of Mass Communication was different," said Abdel-Rahman.
