Iraqi president discharges minister of higher education

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein discharged minister of higher education Abd El-Gabar Tawfik for being unable to find a solution for the immigration of the professors at Iraqi universities and his delay in carrying out an order relating to some university professors in Baghdad that are associated with some new facilities named after 'Saddam' in Baghdad city and in the governorates.

It is worthy to mention that number of the qualified university professors that emigrated during the last 5 years are more than 2000 who left Iraq due to deterioration in their economic positions and their isolation from scientific developments in the world.

Professors at the Iraqi universities are getting salaries that vary between 10,000 - 25,000 Dinars (about 1205 US dollars) while professors in Saddam's faculties of medicine, engineering, law, sciences, religion and history make double these salaries in addition to having health and housing privileges.