Rania Khallaf ponders the way out of an intellectual sit-in Just a few kilometres from Tahrir Square is a dull old building, the Academy for Scientific Research (ASR). Here a sit-in of graduates of Egyptian universities plus Masters and PhD holders is being staged. It was Saturday noon, the main gate was closed, and a small-scale clash erupted between security men and those who wanted to enter. I managed to sneak into the building, up to the fourth floor where graduates were grouping in a medium-sized conference hall. A paramedic from the local ambulance was there to take more young people who lost consciousness because of their hunger strike. The hall was gloomy, with dozens of young and middle aged people scattered on the seats, and a curtain was hung up at the back of the hall for sit-in women to sleep. Actually, strikers got no sleep, and obviously very little food was available to them. And to make it worse, they are not allowed to go out of the academy, at least most of the time. Those who go out, looking for food or anything else, are not allowed to return to their place of protest. The sit-in, which started on Sunday 26 June, came after graduates held a brief meeting with the ASR Chairman Maged El-Sherbini. Students who graduated seven years ago onwards called for what they termed was their right to be appointed as lecturers in their faculties. El-Sherbini, however, announced that only 250 graduates, representing the top graduate of each and every faculty in Egyptian universities of the 2009-2010 academic year would be appointed lecturers. According to statements published in the local media, the rest of the graduates, who number 2,500, in addition to around 10,000 Masters and PhD holders, will also be appointed in relevant posts in universities, research centres, schools and factories. That's good news for last year's graduates but bad for the rest who decided, in reply, to launch the sit-in. According to Mohamed Allam, a representative and coordinator of the Coalition of First Graduates of Egyptian Universities, El-Sherbini was "very vague and indecisive". For the rest of the graduates, 500 jobs will be offered in Egyptian universities, however, official appointments are to be decided depending on the candidate's qualifications, sources at the Higher Education Ministry said. This does not meet the demands of the graduates, who want an immediate solution. And that seems to be the core of the problem. Officials argue there are not enough vacancies in Egyptian universities for all graduates, and are not offering alternatives. Allam is an example of young intelligent graduates who have not been appointed as lecturers though it appears they should have. A 2007 graduate from the Faculty of Antiquities and Restoration in the University of Qena, Allam was head of all his classes during his four years of studying. However, he did not become a lecturer because of a problem of overlapping between relevant sections in Upper Egyptian universities. Five months ago top graduates from all Egyptian universities established a group on Facebook called Thawret Awael Khyreegeen Al-Gameat Al-Masriya (Revolution of top graduates of Egyptian universities) and started negotiating with Amr Ezzat Salama, the minister of higher education. No genuine negotiations are being held. High-ranking officials visit the sit-in from time to time to talk with the two groups concerned, but no real solutions have been reached. Allam, who is studying for his Masters at the Faculty of Antiquities in Cairo University, has been unable to find a job in a relevant field. "I worked for a year as a security man to be able to earn money for my studies. "Is this how Egypt should deal with its best brainpower?" Allam wonders. However, why would he cling to, or rather die for, a teaching job in university as his sole and ultimate goal? "It's my right to work in the same field and the same institution where I proved my excellence. It's simply a workplace where I can conduct my scientific research with dignity, without any outside pressure." Allam's view echoes the dilemma of rare chances and opportunities in Egypt's job market. Most graduates work in minor jobs or irrelevant posts, or go work in Gulf countries to earn good money. I was chatting with a fresh graduate who joined the sit-in to show sympathy with his colleagues and to fight for what he described as his right to an immediate and unconditional appointment, when two female graduates passed by. It seems they were about to faint, and had no energy to talk. One has been on hunger strike for four days but has no intention of changing her mind. A 2010 graduate, who preferred anonymity, was denied a lecturer post at the Faculty of Arts because "there were enough lecturers in my section." "There should be set rules for appointments in Egyptian universities in order to avoid such problems in the future," he said. "I received the best remarks and did my job perfectly. It is my goal in life to be a professor," he added. "It is my right to be appointed" is a slogan chanted by graduates, while banners describe the sit-in as a revolution which aims to upgrade the state of higher education in Egypt. While many have opted for hunger strikes, it seems many more are ready to continue their sit-ins at the academy forever until their demands are met. On Sunday, Sherif Khedr, secretary of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, was there to meet the protesters. They demanded that between the first two to five graduates be hired immediately, according to the educational system of each college in all universities from 2003 to the present (some colleges, like the Faculty of Arts, has several departments while others like engineering have different sections). Khedr promised to pass on their demands to Sharaf. Can we call these negotiations? Not really, and most probably the problem will for now remain unresolved. What is needed is an in-depth review of the problems facing higher education in Egyptian universities and an ambitious plan to make use of Egypt's brainpower. Again, if there are not enough job vacancies in Egyptian universities, it is high time for the government to find ways to benefit from this brilliant, highly promising manpower.
