Undergraduates to salute flag, sing anthem: Higher Education Minister

CAIRO – 15 September 2017: University students will salute the Egyptian national flag and sing the anthem on the first day of the forthcoming educational year, the Ministry of Higher Education stated.

Minister of Higher Education Khaled Abdel Ghafar said in a press conference that such a decision aims to strengthen the values of loyalty and belonging among students, and boost the reluctance to join extremist and banned groups, according to a Menoufia University statement.

In April 2014, official media channels said that, according to Reuters, former interim president Adly Mansour signed off on a law that punishes anyone who would humiliate the national flag or refuse to stand up during the anthem.

According to MENA, the spokesman for Mansour said that a violator would be sentenced, according to the law, to a year or less and would pay a fine that doesn’t exceed LE 30,000 ($1,700).