The American University in Cairo will resume sessions Wednesday after negotiations between students and the administration met some of the demands of protesters, AUC Counsellor and former Higher Education Minister Amr Salama said in a press conference.
Students at the American University in Cairo had been demonstrating since mid-September to protest an increase in tuition fees without consulting students or their union representatives at the university.
The administration has agreed to reduce the increase in student tuition fees to no more than 2.3 percent rather than the previously decided upon 7 percent. Six other student demands were also met, including the abolition of a disciplinary board formed to punish students involved in recent events at the university and the formation of a fact-finding committee to hold students and administration members accountable for any actions they may have taken.
"It was also decided to form an advisory committee to the president of the university involving students, the parents' council and members of the faculty and staff," Salama added.
Salama also said that students will be able to participate in future discussions on the university’s budget, and that the class registration system would be changed.
The ONA news agency, affiliated with the privately-owned ONTV satellite channel, quoted AUC President Lisa Anderson as saying, “The student management is part of university life, and the university welcomes their participation in it in order to provide liberal education and ensure student access to the status of responsible citizens officials.”
But in a message to the AUC community, Anderson added that the crisis between students and the administration has “damaged the fabric of the community, and as we work to enhance constructive student engagement in the life of the university, we must also work to restore the sense of common purpose without which we cannot achieve our aspirations to be of genuine service to Egypt and of genuine value in the world.”
