Egyptian teacher faces prosecution for forcing pupils to take off trousers

Cairo (dpa) - Egypt's chief prosecutor on Saturday ordered a criminal trial for a university teacher who allegedly forced his students to take off their trousers in order to pass an exam, private newspaper al-Masry Al Youm reported.

The teacher, an assistant professor at Al-Azhar University, a state-run institution affiliated with Sunni Islam's key centre of learning, al-Azhar, will face trial at the criminal court on charges of dishonouring a number of students and abusing his authority, the newspaper said.  

No specific date has been set for the trial.

Earlier this year, a video showing the academic promising at a lecture to reward male students who remove their trousers with marks in the exam went viral.

The footage purportedly showed at least two students accepting the offer amid cheers from some colleagues.

The video triggered an outcry in the conservative country and prompted Al-Azhar University to sack the teacher in April.

The university called it an "immoral act and a crime."  

At the time, the academic, who teaches Islamic creed and philosophy, reportedly apologized for the act, saying it was meant as a test for students on his lectures about ethics.

Al-Azhar University, which admits Muslim students only, follows a gender segregation policy. 

dpa