The dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Mansoura University has denied reports about a university decision to separate male and female students during lectures.
Ehab Saad told the state-run Al-Ahram's website that the measure merely sought to facilitate the movement of female students in labs, saying that the girls had complained of narrow aisles there which made movement difficult with males in the same place. He condemned what he described as an attempt to capitalize on the issue.
Al-Ahram had earlier reported that Mansoura University decided to separate male students from females inside classrooms. The news was later circulated by several websites, provoking ridicule from internet users.
Separation of the sexes is one of the teachings promoted by more conservative Muslim scholars.
