Azhar University considers closing down dorms to avoid violence

To avoid the violence that plagued the last academic year, Al-Azhar University is contemplating either hosting a smaller number of students or closing its dorms altogether, according to state-owned Al-Ahram.

A delegation from the university administration made proposals to the Azhar Supreme Council as well as Azhar Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb and Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb, in order to avoid violence mostly caused by dorm residents belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Ahmed Hosni, deputy of Al-Azhar University, said the administration suggested closing down the dorms for this year, especially since renovations in the building aren’t complete. Students would instead be given financial compensation, he told Ahram.

The other proposal includes only hosting around 12,000 students rather than the 18,500 students it hosted last year.

In that case, Hosni stipulated, security would have to be heightened around the building. He added that the university installed surveillance cameras inside the dorms like the ones it installed on campus last year to catch whoever is involved in acts of violence and vandalism.

Violence that gripped the campus last year cost the university damages that amounted to around LE30 million, Ahram said.

Egypt's universities have been the site of increasingly deadly violence since former President Mohamed Morsi was removed from power last July. Tens of Azhar students have been expelled, while others have been sent to jail. Last June, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced 14 Azhar students to seven years in a maximum-security prison for acts of violence committed on campus.

The university administration is set to meet on September 10 to discuss issues pertaining to the start of the academic year, scheduled for October 11.