World Bulletin/News Desk

At least 18 Egyptian student supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi have been expelled from their respective universities over the past three days for taking part in anti-government demonstrations, according to university officials and activists.

Acting head of Upper Egypt's Minya University, Gamal Abu al-Magd, told reporters on Tuesday that six activists from the "Students against the Coup" campaign, the main organizer of most student protests, had been suspended for three weeks after having been investigated for participating in student rallies against Egypt's military-backed government.

"University [authorities] will deal firmly with anyone who participates in – or sympathizes with – riots and vandalism on campus," Abu al-Magd said.

The decision came one day after Alexandria University expelled seven students after on-campus surveillance cameras caught them "rioting" at an anti-government student protest, according to statements by Rushdi Zahran, the university's acting chairman.

Earlier this week, a spokesman for Cairo's Al-Azhar University said that five female students had been expelled for staging an anti-government protest on campus.

"The vicious attack [by security forces and university administrations] on peaceful student opponents [of the regime] continues," Abdel-Rahman Safwan, a spokesman for "Students against the Coup," told Anadolu Agency.

"Expulsions will not intimidate students who have the right to demand that their universities are free of repression," he said.

Earlier this month, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi issued a presidential decree calling for the expulsion of any university student involved in "acts of rioting or vandalism" inside university premises.

Since the new school year began earlier this month, university students across Egypt have staged demonstrations, organized mainly by the "anti-coup" students' campaign.

A 19-year old student was killed last week from injuries sustained during clashes with security forces at Alexandria University the week before.

Student protesters complain of a fresh wave of arrests of politically-active students, along with the continued detention of thousands of others – many of whom have been held by authorities since last summer.

Universities across Egypt were overwhelmed by protests during the first week of the new academic year, amid stepped-up security on campus.

The previous academic year, which began shortly after Morsi's ouster by the army and the onset of a deadly crackdown on Morsi's supporters, saw a wave of university protests that left several students dead and scores in detention.

Many students who had taken part in earlier campus protests have since been expelled by their respective universities.