World Bulletin/News Desk

An alliance that supports ousted president Mohamed Morsi on Thursday called for a fresh week of protests starting Friday to coincide with the start of the new academic year at the nation's universities.

"Universities are one of the epicenters of the simmering revolution," the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy said in a statement.

"Let's begin a new and powerful revolutionary action starting from Friday," it added, dubbing the new week of protest "Students are the drivers of the revolution."

Egyptian universities are expected to welcome around two million students for the new academic year on Sunday – two weeks after the academic year kicked off at the nation's high schools.

The government had postponed the new school year at universities for two weeks amid fears that it would be a copy of the previous one: full of anti-government protests, especially by pro-Morsi students.

Anti-government student demonstrators staged numerous protests during the previous academic year at the nation's universities, a large number of whom were thrown in jail.

Some of the protests turned into bloody confrontations between students and police.

The National Alliance for the Defense of legitimacy said in its statement that students represented the "main force" behind revolutionary action in Egypt.