مركز ماعت للدراسات الحقوقية والدستورية

Maat raises its Difficult Questions about the Egyptian Universities ' freedom in the Light of International Charters and Standers…

Do the Universities' Chancellors Realize their Real Role inside their Institutions?

30\10\2007.

Maat Center for Juridical and Constitutional Studies observed violence actions between security members and students in number of Egyptian universities, during the period of Student Elections. These actions were done by a strange and suspicious interference of some people described as thugs. The universities' campus used to receive those thugs only in these circumstances, in spite of the security members' ability to prohibit the unknowns to be present in the university classes and squares. The center confirms the importance of the state's obligation to some international agreements and standers concerning achieving universities' independence, and guarding the academic work with what are suitable for scientists and students alike, the most important of those principles, agreements, and standers are:

Academic Freedom Announcement of 2005, which confirms the university's role in defending freedom of opinion and expression, and tacking procedures concerned of academic freedom and guarded it.

The first article of Omani Announcement issued in 2007 confirms the importance of deleting the political custody on the academic society, and the importance of the general authorities' obligation to respect the independence of the scientific society with its three constituents, teachers, students, and administrators, and to keep it away of outer stresses and political interferences which violate the freedom of academic institutions…

The second article also pointed out that the academic freedom includes the right of publishing information and knowledge and exchange them, and the academic society's right to control it self.

While the fifth article confirms the right of institutions of higher education and scientific research to manage its affairs upon democratic bases, and to choose its academic staffs through free elections .., it also confirms the students' right to participate in such administration.

However Kampala announcement about intellectual freedom and social responsibility of 1990, its twelfth article pointed out to the main rights and freedoms inside the academic society to complete the self control of its institutions via democratic means and active participation of all its members…

Article number thirteen of Kampala announcement asserts the state's obligation to tack suitable and immediate procedures concerning any violation of its officers towards rights and freedoms of the intellectual society.

According to article number thirteen the state shall not deploy any military forces or civil defense forces or security forces or the intelligence or any similar forces inside territories and buildings of educational institutions. In the case it is important to deploy such forces to keep life and properties, these conditions are considered:

(a) There is clear danger threats life and properties.

(b) The concerned institution's administrator offered a written order in this respect.

(c) The order has to be agreed upon through an established committee elected by the academic society and formed for this reason.

As for Lima announcement about academic freedom and the independence of institutions of higher education of December 1988, its fourth article obliged the state to respect and granted all civil, political, economical, social, and cultural rights of the academic society, those rights which are confessed by the United Nations charter for human rights.

All members in the society specially have the freedom of thought, conscious, religion, expression, meeting, and joining associations…

Article number nineteen of the same announcement asserted that the independence of institutions of higher education shall be practiced via democratic means of self control which included effective participation of all members of academic societies, and that all of them has to enjoy the right and chance without any kind of separation.

Yet, the agreement of challenging prejudice in education field approved by the general conference of the United Nations' organization for science, culture, and education in its eleventh course, Paris, December 1960, its seventh article stated the necessity of that member states shall present reports to the general conference in dates and by method mentioned by the conference. Member states shall present information about legislative and administrative decisions approved by the state, about other measures adopted to apply this agreement including measures adopted to put and develop national policy illustrated in article number 4, and about the results achieved and the obstacles the state faced in applying this policy.

Finally, article N. 40 of the charter of the committee concerned of economical, social, cultural rights in the issue of academic freedom and universities' independence, asserts that enjoying academic freedom requires the independence of higher education institutions. The independence is a degree of self control which is essential so that the institutions of higher education can tack decisions effectively concerning the academic work, its stander, administration and the relative activities. This independence shall be coordinated with systems which can be judged especially for funds supplied by the state.

In the light of these international agreements, standers, and announcements Maat raises its questions:

Is the government complied with keeping academic freedoms and preserved freedom of research work and educational institutions in the light of the events we observed inside universities during the student's elections?

Is the government provided legal atmosphere, which allows a democratic administration of universities' bodies, and offers the science desirous the chance to realize the reality of their role in the after studying stage?

Is the universities' chancellors feel their independence and their decisions away from any outer effects, especially after some of them confessed the importance of the security existence in their universities' campus until the universities' squares turned to be (groups) of official uniform, and to be a ring of governmental fight with political forces or a ring of the political forces' fight with unknown thugs who were identified in mass media and among students as security men?

There are two events the center's memory remembered while raising its questions about the reality of the universities' bodies' independence: the first was the dragging of Dr. Aadel Anani, professor of English Literature in Aeen Shams University, Faculty of Arts, on the ground, three years ago by one of the officers of the university's security because a quarrel about the professor right to park his car inside the university campus, the seen ended with unknown inquiry and weak situation of the university's chancellor who tried to compensate the victim professor by buying new clothes for him instead of his torn ones by the great officer.

The second event, after which we will not talk or even mention students' trailing, and teachers' trailing, and disciplinary councils which decisions may overcome judiciary reports, represented in the lately aggression ,which is the new of its kind, against some editors of university education in Egyptian papers inside Aeen Shams University without clear situation of its chancellor to confirm his respect of the Egyptian journalists, or at least to prove his ability to protect his visitors in his ancient university… and no more!!

Maat for juridical and constitutional studies

Main

Statements

Legal library

Researches & Studies

Reports

Conferences & Seminars

Free consultations

About Maat

Send to us

you, visitor no.,