Why are Egypt's advanced degree holders protesting?
While some believe that there is no need to appoint master’s and doctoral degree holders in Egypt’s state institutions, others argue the state must benefit from their academic education.
CAIRO — In recent months, hundreds of master’s and doctoral degree holders who graduated in 2015 have held demonstrations in Cairo, demanding that they be appointed to jobs in the state administration. A protest was held Nov. 24 outside Ittihadiya presidential palace, followed by another Nov. 29 in Tahrir Square.
The latter demonstration was broken up by security forces, and 31 of the participants were arrested, most notably Mahmoud Abu Zeid, the general coordinator of the protest campaign, while he was speaking to the press in Tahrir Square.
On Nov. 30, the arrested participants were released from the Qasr el-Nil police station in Cairo, except for Abu Zeid. He remained under arrest on charges of protesting without a permit, for which he could be sentenced to five years in prison under Egypt’s 2013 demonstration law.
On Dec. 1, Abu Zeid was released on 5,000 Egyptian pounds bail (about $640), which was collected by his colleagues in the campaign to secure his release.
