File photo: Tear gas fired by riot police at protesters fills the air during clashes between riot police and students of Al-Azhar University, who support the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, outside the university's campus in Cairo's Nasr City district December 27, 2013 (Photo: Reuters)
Egypt's Higher Education Minister said Thursday that the start of the new academic semester at universities will be delayed two weeks, Al-Ahram's Arabic news website reported.
Sayed Abdel-Khalek said the reason behind the delay is that university dormitories are not ready to receive the students.
The semester was due to start on 27 September but will instead start on 11 October.
The 2013-2014 academic year in Egypt was tumultuous, with students supporting ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi holding near-daily protests to demand his reinstatement and denounce the detention of their fellows.
The demonstrations often descended into clashes with security forces or opposing students. The campuses and dormitories of Al-Azhar University in different Egyptian cities saw some of the worst violence, with several students killed. University buildings were also destroyed or set on fire during the clashes.
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