Egyptian Cleric bars veiled women from school

A security official also told The Associated Press that police have standing verbal orders to bar girls covered from head to toe from entering al-Azhar’s institutions, including middle and high schools, as well as the dormitories of several universities in Cairo.

Saturday, a handful of women protested the ban outside the university, and despite such backlash, it appears Tantawi will not be “dismissed.”
Unfortunately, his announcement came after he visited a local school, witnessed schoolgirls wearing the niqab, requested that one girl take hers off, and was surprised when she didn’t, saying “Niqab has nothing to do with Islam…I know about religion better than you and your parents.” Inappropriate!
The challenge now facing Egypt is that of deciding next steps. Some doubt the ban will be enforced, like a ban on full-face veils for nurses declared but not implemented last year. Just last month, Egypt’s Mufti encouraged women to wear pants. Additionally, judicial precedence in Egypt does not favor a ban on the niqab:

A researcher wearing the niqab prevented from using the library at the American University in Cairo in 2001 took her case to the Egypt’s supreme court and eventually won. The court ruled a total ban on the niqab to be unconstitutional.

Additionally, these young women students will be denied government-subsidized housing and food as a result of their classification as “extremists.” The Egyptian government seems to be demonstrating a blatant disregard for recruitment and retention of women students, creating one more social obstacle for women in their journey to education. Thanks for making it that much harder for women to stay in school.
(BBC has this helpful guide on the types of head-covering scarves for Muslim women.)
Related:
Sarkozy Supports Burqa Ban
Muslim Women Can Keep Veils On