The Faculty of Medicine at Menoufia University in Egypt announced on Thursday the suspension of four professors following the death of student Iman Diab, hours after she took an exam in the subject of ear, nose, and throat (ENT).
The faculty stated in a statement this evening that the President of Menoufia University, Ahmed Al-Qased, issued a decision to suspend the head of the ENT department and three others in the department for a period of three months pending the completion of investigations, in accordance with the general regulations governing work procedures and the Universities Organization Law.
It clarified that the decision was based on a complaint submitted by fifth-year students of the Faculty of Medicine regarding the difficulty of the ENT exam and the circumstances surrounding it, and the memorandum submitted by Dr. Mohamed Al-Noamani, Dean of the Faculty, which included all the circumstances of the incident and the complaints submitted by the students.
The Faculty of Medicine Council stressed that it will not tolerate any breach of the principles and values upon which the faculty is based, and that regulations and laws will be applied with the utmost degree of justice and equity among all parties, adding that “the university community will be informed of the developments of the investigation and its results as soon as it is completed, while emphasizing that the interest of the students is always at the forefront of the faculty and university’s priorities.”
The student died a few days ago after suffering a severe brain hemorrhage, a few hours after taking the ENT exam.
The incident of Diab’s death caused a great uproar in the university community and on social media, with some accusing the difficulty of the exam of causing the student to experience depression, according to her family.
Following the student’s death, the Faculty of Medicine announced that it had received a complaint from fifth-year students through the student union regarding the ENT exam, adding that the incident is under investigation.
