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Egypt Independent
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
Egypt's Ministry of Higher Education pledges support for USAID Scholarship students
The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has confirmed its commitment to covering all tuition fees and expenses for the 1,077 students enrolled in Egyptian universities through scholarships provided by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). This decision follows the suspension of all USAID programs worldwide for 90 days. In an emergency meeting chaired by the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the situation of the 1,077 undergraduate students on USAID scholarships was discussed. These students are distributed across public, private, and national universities (877 students) and the American University in Cairo (200). The ministry and universities pledged to continue to cover expenses until the end of the second semester, and will support these students in facing any future challenges. During the meeting, the council was informed that the American University in Cairo will bear the expenses of the 200 Egyptian students enrolled in the scholarship program during the second semester, with continued coordination with the ministry in this regard. During the meeting, which was attended by the Secretary of the Supreme Council of Universities, various council members, and the Academic Affairs Undersecretary at the American University in Cairo, the Minister of Higher Education affirmed the Ministry's commitment to supporting scholarship students in various universities across Egypt. He noted the close cooperation between the ministry and universities in ensuring that students can continue their academic journey, as education is a fundamental pillar towards building a bright future for them and the nation. The official spokesperson for the Ministry, Adel Abdel Ghaffar, explained that the meeting concluded with the discussing overcoming any obstacles facing scholarship students, and emphasizing the importance of considering the future of these students in all Egyptian universities (public, private, and national) under the supervision of the Supreme Council of Universities following the temporary USAID suspension. Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
CairoScene
29-01-2025
- Politics
- CairoScene
Universities to Cover US Scholarship Students After USAID Suspension
Despite USAID's 90-day funding suspension, Egyptian universities will fully cover tuition and expenses for affected students. Jan 29, 2025 Following the US Agency for International Development's (USAID) decision to suspend funding for its programs worldwide for 90 days, Egypt's Ministry of Higher Education has confirmed that Egyptian universities will cover all tuition and expenses previously funded by USAID until the end of the second academic semester. Regarding rumours on social media that The American University in Cairo (AUC) would expel scholarship students from their residences for 90 days, Ministry of Higher Education spokesperson Adel Abdel Ghaffar dismissed these claims as false, and said that AUC is committed to covering all accommodation costs for affected students. Furthermore, Abdel Ghaffar emphasised that no scholarship student enrolled in government, private, or national universities will be negatively impacted, as universities will fully absorb the costs, including tuition and housing.
The National
29-01-2025
- Politics
- The National
Egypt tells universities to cover US-paid scholarships as Trump freezes funds
Egypt 's Higher Education Ministry has told local universities to cover costs for students on US-funded scholarships after President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on foreign aid. The order suspends all foreign assistance, apart from humanitarian food programmes and military assistance to Israel and Egypt, for 90 days pending a review of US aid programmes. The move will affect 1,077 Egyptian undergraduate students in public, private and non-profit universities who received scholarships from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), including 200 at the American University in Cairo (AUC), Higher Education Ministry spokesman Adel Abdel Ghaffar told The National. Seven Egyptian graduate students studying in the US are also affected. The US agency informed the scholarship recipients on Saturday that its programme was being suspended for 90 days, leading to panic and an outcry on social media. In response, Egypt's Supreme Council of Universities, a state agency, held an emergency meeting led by Higher Education Minister Ayman Ashour on Tuesday night. Mr Ashour announced that each university would commit to covering all tuition fees and support that USAID had been providing until the end of the second term. His ministry said that the students would not be harmed and that universities would 'fully cover the scholarships' whether they were for tuition fees or housing. It called on students and their parents not to be swayed by rumours and reassured them about their future. Mr Abdel Ghaffar dismissed reports on social media that AUC students had been forcibly removed from their residences as 'mere rumours'. However, Mohamed Yousry, 24, a computer science student at the state-run Alexandria University who received a USAID scholarship to study at the prestigious and much more expensive AUC, told The National that he and many of his classmates had received an email from university administrators saying that they would not be housed or allowed to attend classes there for 90 days. 'We had to pack our things very quickly and organise our own transport to our home provinces. I returned to Alexandria, which wasn't very hard but some of my colleagues from Aswan and Upper Egypt had to make much longer journeys,' Mr Yousry said. 'I am finishing up my degree by June but there are students who have just started their scholarship programmes, so even if the universities cover the costs for the next 90 days, who knows if they will continue to do so if the US decides to defund these programmes.' The suspension of US aid programmes stoked already seething anger towards Israel among Egypt's youth, with many students seeing it as a move to pressure Egypt to allow in Palestinians displaced by the Gaza war. Mr Trump on Saturday suggested that Jordan and Egypt could take in about 1.5 million Gazans left homeless by Israel's destructive military campaign in the enclave, either for the short-term or permanently. Both Jordan and Egypt quickly rejected the idea. Egypt has been one of the largest recipients of US aid since the signing in 1978 of the Camp David Accords by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin under the guidance of US president Jimmy Carter. The deal brought an end to more than 30 years of Egyptian-Israeli hostilities and helped the country's passage into the neoliberal global economy. As part of the agreement, the US committed to providing substantial economic and military aid to both Egypt and Israel. Since the signing of the peace treaty, Egypt has received US aid amounting to more than $30 billion, in addition to $1.3 billion in military aid annually. The assistance has been a key component of the US-Egypt relationship and is viewed as an important means of maintaining the stability of American interests in the region.
