Cairo University has turned its centennial into an official celebration to be attended by official figures including the university's teaching staff members. The university cancelled lectures on Saturday and Sunday to hold the celebration so that it would not be attended by unwanted students and professors, sources at the university said. The university administration distributed a leaflet announcing that lectures were cancelled and that only those who had personal invitations from the university administration would be allowed to enter the celebration hall. The President of Cairo University Hossam Kamel said the university canceled lectures on 20-21 Dec because it would be busy with the celebration, pointing out that the university had sent invitations to teaching staff members from the deans to the department heads. The other ordinary teaching staff members and students would not be allowed to enter the hall during the celebration, he said, as the hall can accommodate only 2,500 persons.
On the other hand, March 9th Movement for the Independence of Universities and a number of university professors protested against the decision to cancel lectures and prepared a memo to be sent to Kamel. The memo said holding celebrations in the absence of university professors and students is very strange, as they should be the first to celebrate the university's 100th anniversary, the memo says. It also points out that canceling two days of the penultimate week of studies harms the educational process and confuses students before examinations. This semester includes only 11 weeks, which is less than the minimum and completely contradicts slogans on quality.
For his part, Dr Mohamed Abul Gar, the spiritual father of March 9th Movement, said he had not received any invitation to attend the ceremony, "which is supposed to be a popular commemoration of the University, as it was established through people's funds. The attendees will be chosen by the security."
