CAIRO: Two lawyers have initiated legal proceedings against Egypt's prime minister, the education minister and the minister of higher education in objection to their decision to start the academic year on Sept. 20. They claimed that the ministers failed to show sensitivity to peoples' circumstances. Lawyers Adel Badawi and Mahmoud Sabit are opposing the ministers' decision to start school earlier than expected. "The government just took this decision without even consulting the Egyptian people, Badawi told Daily News Egypt. Badawi and Sabit accused the ministry of being inconsiderate of the financial burdens that come with Ramadan, Eid and the beginning of the school year. "Most Egyptians just cannot afford the extra burden of preparing for school on top of Ramadan and Eid, he said. "The situation most Egyptians find themselves in at this time is a difficult one. It is both unfair and unsympathetic not to see how many families will struggle just because the ministry won't make a small delay, he continued. Badawi and Sabit demanded the decision be retracted and the schools postponed for two weeks until after Eid El Fitr "so people would have a chance to recover from Ramadan and Eid expenses. Students across Egypt have set up groups on social networking sites such as Facebook with over 1,200 members to oppose the ministry's decision to start schools 10 days before the end of Ramadan. There is also a call to boycott schools in Ramadan. The lawyers have threatened to take the problem up with the president if the ministers refuse to take action. "If the ministry fails to respond to our warning then we will take the matter to the president because he always takes the people's side in these matters, Badawi said. Badawi criticized the emphasis placed on when schools start rather than what they teach. "The system is obsessed with finishing the school curriculum on time but they shouldn't care about how much they teach but how well they teach it.
