AMID the dismay of families, the new academic year started on Saturday, reflecting dissatisfaction and disorganisation. In many schools, books had yet to arrive and there was a weak turnout of students as well as teachers who had objected to the timing of the start of the new academic year, calling for it to be delayed until after Ramadan which ends on 30 September. Demonstrations took place in Alexandria and Menoufiya but for other reasons. Some 1,000 parents and pupils in school uniform demonstrated in front of the Alexandria governorate headquarters protesting against the closure of Al-Gezira School, the reasons of which were not made public. Security forces brought the situation under control. In Menoufiya, nearly 500 students skipped class and protested against the establishment of a new mobile station near their school for fear of the health hazards the emitting signals might pose. There have been repeated appeals from the public to delay the beginning of the new term until after Eid Al-Fitr, the feast marking the end of Ramadan. All such requests were turned down, leaving already overstretched family budgets to cope not only with the additional expenses of the holy month but with those that come with the start of each academic year. Minister of Education Yosri El-Gamal warned students not to be absent from school. According to ministerial decree 261/2008 parents of any student who is absent for more than 10 days without a good excuse are to be fined LE10. The fine is paid every 10 days if the student continues to be absent.
