The Al-Azhar University decided on Tuesday to award a deceased researcher a doctorate degree posthumously with honors, following a discussion of her doctoral dissertation.
The discussion panel was held in the Shafika al-Shahawy Auditorium at the Faculty of Islamic and Arabic Studies for Girls in Cairo, in honor of deceased researcher Hanem Mahmoud Abul-Yazid Mohamed Abul-Azm, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Islamic and Arabic Studies for Girls in Port Said.
The Azhar University President Salama Dawoud said that the decision to discuss the doctoral dissertation after following the approval of the Azhar University Council.
The decision was made to honor Abul-Azm and the efforts she put into the dissertation, and also prevent anyone else from plagiarizing the research and attributing it to themselves, Dawoud added.
He confirmed that the examination committee awarded the researcher a doctorate degree with first-class honors and deposited the research in the college library and the central library.
The Vice President of Azhar University for Graduate Studies, Mahmoud Siddiq, explained that the university had previously examined the doctoral dissertation of a deceased researcher at the Azhar University branch in Zagazig.
This was done as a way of giving researchers their due, honoring them after their death, and bringing solace to their family, he said.
Abul-Azm had prepared her doctoral dissertation four years ago and followed up with the supervisory committee. The committee approved examining the researcher with the participation of external examiners.
However, she passed away after submitting copies of the dissertation to the committee for review.
Preparations for discussing the dissertation have been completed, and a date has been set for the discussion. The researcher’s name will be awarded the grade despite her passing, and her name will be placed on the designated chair.
The deceased researcher’s husband, Amr Saad, told Al-Masry Al-Youm after the dissertation discussion that he hopes to see his wife’s excellence carried on by their children, so that they can continue on the path she began.
He explained that his daughter, Fatima, is in the third year of middle school at Azhar, and his son, Yassin, is in the second year of middle school at Azhar.
Saad continued, “I wish my wife had been here to witness her obtaining first-class honors. She was always diligent, excelled at her work, and never neglected her home.”
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
