Cairo: Egyptian authorities have sacked the head of a provincial school after local media aired a video showing a group of students swaying to a belly dance clip inside their classroom.
Fifteen teachers and administrative employees at the boys’ school, reportedly located in the province of Menufia north of Cairo, will be quizzed over the incident that has triggered an outcry in the conservative country, a local official said Wednesday.
Education Ministry’s Undersecretary in the province Mokhtar Chahin added that 20 students involved in the incident will be expelled for two weeks.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the clip had been shown on an LSD screen known as a “smart board” fitted inside the classroom as part of the Egyptian government’s efforts to upgrade teaching methods in schools.
“The incident occurred in the last class of the school day on Sunday after the class teacher didn’t show up. It is not known yet how the clip found its way to the smart board,” a provincial source said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to media.
In the video, apparently captured on a mobile phone, the students are also seen clapping and dancing to the tempo of mahraganat, a controversial type of street music banned by the country’s music union this week.
In recent years, Egyptian authorities have invested a lot of money and efforts in reforming the education system, targeting mainly the government-run schools.