Egypt’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Ayman Ashour announced that alternative scholarships will be provided to 56 scholarship students who were scheduled to be accepted in the second semester of the current academic year at the American University in Cairo.
These scholarships come to help students continue their education after the current US administration has halted support provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Details of the compensation
The Secretary of the Council of Private Universities and Acting Secretary of the Council of Foreign Universities Branches, Abdel-Wahab Ezzat, said that these alternative scholarships will be available in the branches of foreign universities in the New Administrative Capital, as well as in European and Canadian universities in Egypt, in addition to the German University in Cairo and the British University in Egypt.
For his part, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Adel Abdel-Ghaffar, said that these students will be contacted via email to inform them with the alternative scholarships available to them at these universities, stressing that the ministry continues to support them to ensure the stability of their academic education.
The ministry’s response
US President Donald Trump’s decision to stop US aid, which also included scholarships provided by the USAID, came into effect on January 28.
The decision caused confusion among scholarship students, which number about 1,077 in Egyptian private and public universities, and the AUC.
In an attempt to resolve the issue, the Supreme Council of Universities held an emergency meeting to ensure that this situation is addressed and appropriate solutions are provided to affected students.
The Council decided that the universities would continue to provide financial support to students until the end of the second semester, in addition to the commitment of the AUC to bear the expenses of students who would have been accepted in the second semester.
Future of current scholarship students
For the 125 new students who had received scholarships this year, it was decided to temporarily postpone their admission until the necessary financial support is provided to them.
It was also announced that the AUC will continue to work on collecting donations to ensure that these students can join in the future.
Impact on employees
The situation was not limited to students only, but also extended to include 113 employees who were working in scholarship programs.
In order to help them overcome the issue, the AUC decided to cover their basic salaries for three months, while continuing to coordinate with government agencies to find new job opportunities for them.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
