Following the storming by Islamic fundamentalists on Monday of a university faculty near Tunis, Tunisia's ministry of higher education issued a statement on Tuesday saying it "condemns" the wearing of the niqab (full-face Islamic veil) within classrooms in all university premises, Tunisian TV reported on Tuesday.

The move came after a meeting of University of Manouba's board of letters, arts and humanities faculty on Tuesday refused one of the two demands by a group of Salafists, who were asking for the acceptance of the niqab and the setting up of prayers' room within the institution.

The dean of the faculty told the media on Tuesday that the faculty board meeting had accepted the request of setting up a prayers' room within the institution, saying the request were submitted to the ministry of higher education.

However, the meeting refused to accept the wearing of niqab within classrooms. The dean justified the decision to ban full- face Islamic veil on "pedagogical" and "security" reasons.

On Monday morning, some 100 Salafists stormed the campus disrupting classes and sequestrating the dean. They later released him, but decided to spend the night in the faculty's administrative premises until their demands were met. Latest reports indicate they were still camping inside the faculty on Tuesday night, as police vans were reported to be parked outside the university grounds.

Clashes between the fundamentalists and secularist students also took place around the campus, but no injuries were reported, Radio Mosaique FM said.

Hundreds of academics gathered at the faculty to show their solidarity with the decision and called on the country's newly- elected Constitutional Assembly to take a legal stand clearly banning the niqab within university institutions.

A one-day strike on Dec. 1 by university teachers was also announced, with marches planned to the ministry of higher education, as well as to the Constitutional Assembly, Tunisian TV reported.

Both the country's General Workers' Union (UGTT) and Human Rights League condemned the storming of the university campus in separate statements issued on Tuesday.

The incident is the latest in a string of clashes between secularists and Islamic fundamentalists that have touched both schools and academic institutions throughout the country in recent weeks. The incident has also prompted a strong debate on the absence of security within educational institutions.