CAIRO -

 With the significant increase in the price of the dollar against the Egyptian pound, students in Egyptian private universities are facing the crisis of increasing tuition, the increase of which varied during the current year, while it is expected to increase by 30% during the next year.

The pound lost 40% of its value against the dollar during the past year, then lost another 7% during the current year (the dollar equals 30 pounds). The French bank, Societe Generale, expected last February that the pound would decline by another 10% during the current year.

Egypt was counting on attracting more foreign students based on lower expenses compared to education in other countries such as Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, in addition to accepting students in faculties such as medicine, pharmacy and engineering with a total score not exceeding 75%.

However, the decline in the price of the Egyptian pound has increased the expenses of some universities for Egyptian students, as they collect fees in dollars, while those that are collected in Egyptian pounds from Egyptians intend to raise them during the next year, according to one of the employees of the German University.

Ahmed Essam, a final year student at the Faculty of Dentistry at Misr University for Science and Technology, says that the fees increased by an average of 1,000 pounds during the second semester to 29,600 pounds, indicating that the expenses were 27,500 pounds in 2018.

In his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Essam pointed out that Misr University for Science and Technology is considered one of the cheapest private universities in Egypt in general, indicating that the student in it pays the same fees for the year of entry during his full academic years with a slight annual increase.

Very popular

The spokesman also attributes the increase in expenses to the high demand for private universities, which provide the opportunity to enroll in faculties such as medicine, pharmacy and other top faculties for all those who were unable to enroll in public universities.

Essam pointed out that inflation pushes universities to raise fees for Egyptians, because they do not receive fees from them in dollars.

He added, "Universities determine their expenses as they wish because the Supreme Council of Universities gives them the right to estimate expenses and the annual increase, and the matter depends on demand or competitiveness, after the top colleges in public universities became exclusively for the elite of outstanding students, however, public universities have created departments in artificial intelligence and technology sciences in exchange for private expenses as well.

This hadith is confirmed by Iman Muhammad, saying that she joined last year at the Faculty of Dentistry itself, but at the University of "Daria" in Minya Governorate, in southern Egypt, for 65 thousand pounds, with a predetermined annual increase of 5%, adding to Al-Jazeera Net that the turnout is very high for the university.

exchange rate

With regard to the American University, the tuition prices have not changed, as university spokeswoman Rehab Saad tells Al-Jazeera Net, stressing that the problem for Egyptian students is that the university collects its tuition in dollars, which increases the spring semester tuition fees for Egyptians when calculated in pounds.

Rehab pointed out that the university took decisions after floating the pound recently to reduce the repercussions of the decision on students, so it established a fund to support those who cannot pay based on the new exchange rate, and a 10% reduction in spring semester fees for those who paid it before February 9.

The university pledged not to force any student to leave the study for the sake of expenses, and increased the value of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships from 39 to 45 million dollars, according to Rehab Saad, who confirmed that about 3 thousand students (40% of university students) do not pay full tuition fees, including So 850 students receive full scholarships.

As for the German University, one of its accounting employees tells Al-Jazeera Net that it is still collecting its expenses from non-Egyptians in euros or dollars as it is without an increase, but he confirmed that there is an increase during the next academic year.

The spokesman, who declined to be named, said that the faculties of engineering, law, management technology, and pharmacy start from 3,800 euros to 5,000 euros per semester, while faculties such as science and applied sciences start from 4,000 euros, during the current academic year.

He pointed out that the annual increase, although it takes place under the supervision of the Supreme Council of Universities, is dependent on the price of the pound because the university contracts with foreign professors and pays them in euros, and it also imports most of its equipment and needs from abroad as well, which makes the annual increase dependent on the exchange rate of the pound.

The spokesman said that the expenses will increase during the next academic year at the university by 30% for Egyptians and 10% for foreigners, adding that there are additional expenses that will also increase, but they are not compulsory, such as activities, transportation, and others.

government sponsorship

Egypt currently has 93 universities, including 27 government universities, 25 private universities, 20 private universities, 6 branches of international universities, 10 technological universities, in addition to 4 international private universities and 247 institutes (between high and medium).

In 2019, the government launched the "Study in Egypt" initiative, in an attempt to make Egypt a regional educational destination, an initiative the government says aims to support Egypt's soft power and increase its national income.

Egypt raised the percentage of expatriates allowed to be admitted to public and private universities from 5 to 25%, and made the minimum admission threshold for qualitative colleges much lower than it is for Egyptian students.