Students and professors at Mansoura University in the Nile Delta, like their counterparts at most other Egyptian universities, are demanding the dismissal of all university officials appointed by the ousted Mubarak regime. They want these officials, including university presidents and faculty deans, to be elected rather than simply appointed by the state.
On Tuesday, Mansoura University students announced a general strike. On the same day, clashes broke out between students demanding the resignation of faculty dean Mohamed Ghoneim and unidentified individuals who attacked the students with tasers and clubs.
The university’s arts faculty building, in front of which the clashes occurred, was eventually cordoned off by military personnel.
Earlier this month, the head of Mansoura University had been forced to resign after angry protests by students and professors. He was quickly replaced, following elections, by a faculty dean originally appointed under the Mubarak regime.
Students, however, challenged the election results, vowing to reject anyone appointed by the former regime, under which universities had been tightly controlled by state security agencies.
During the elections last week, Ghoneim’s car was forcibly stopped by students protesting against the participation of 22 Mubarak-appointed faculty deans. The car eventually ploughed through the demonstration, injuring at least 15 student protesters.
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