Egypt Further Delays Start of Academic Year Due to Swine Flu, Security Concerns

Egypt’s schools, currently on a mid-year break initially scheduled to end on Feb. 22, have delayed the resumption of classes twice in the last week. The ongoing swine flu outbreak, which has killed 63 and infected at least 539 people since December, prompted the first of these most recent delays. On Wednesday, the interim government announced another delay citing security concerns surrounding another round of protests by supporters of the ousted Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi. The new date set for the beginning of classes has been set for March 8. Nearly a quarter of the academic term has now been lost to delays.

Protests in and around schools and universities have been a fixture of Egyptian education since the beginning of the academic year in September. Despite the severe crackdowns by the Egyptian government, the country has seen nearly constant demonstrations, some violent.

Students too have had a major role in anti-government protests—a court in Alexandria recently sentenced a group of 37 students to a year in prison each for participating in protests against the military government. Security concerns have only been heightened with the recent resignation of the interim government and prime minister. 

Creative Commons Love: Hossam el-Hamalawy on Flickr.com

Written by Alex Leedom