Egypt’s churches have opened their doors to students sitting for their Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations to study in lit, air conditioned spaces, during power outages. SSC is the certificate through which students in Egypt qualify for university or jobs; the examinations run till 22 July.
The government had announced that intermittent power outages will take place across Egypt to rationalise consumption of heavily-subsidised electricity which has risen drastically during the hot summer season. It also announced a scheduled plan to increase power production and phase out the problem.
Alexandria churches were the first to take the initiative, but they were closely followed by churches in Cairo, Assiut, Port Said, and many others.
Most churches on urban areas in Egypt have their own power generating units to deal with any power cuts. Hence their invitation to provide well-lit, air conditioned spaces for students the study, promising free beverages to those who come. The invitations were posted online, and were extended to both Christian and Muslim students.