Following an outbreak of food poisoning among students of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayyeb ordered on Tuesday the formation of a committee to supervise the university campus and create a plan for enhancing services.
The decision came during El-Tayyeb’s meeting with Al-Azhar’s student union, after 179 students were admitted to hospital on Monday and Tuesday after eating at the university dormitory.
On Monday evening, hundreds of angry students blocked Nasr Road near the university in protest at the incident, with some of them chanting against El-Tayyeb.
This marks the second large-scale food poisoning case to take place at Al-Azhar in April.
Around 500 students were hospitalised on 1 April after suffering food poisoning at the same dormitory cafeteria.
After the first food poisoning incident, thousands took to the streets in support of El-Tayyeb and against what they believed was a Brotherhood ploy to use the incident to force his sacking and further “Brotherhoodise” Al-Azhar, an accusation the Muslim Brotherhood vehemently denied.
During his meeting with the student union on Tuesday, El-Tayyeb promised that the committee will follow closely the hygiene and development of food outlets on campus, in addition to drafting monthly reports to be given to the university’s council.
Al-Azhar’s medical committee will also be asked to directly monitor clinics located on campus.
On Saturday, an engineering student at the university died after suffering a heart attack. His colleagues accuse the university medical clinic of being unavailable to help him.