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Parents, Alumni Join AUC Students in Protests Against Tuition Fee Hikes

November 17, 2016
Students at the American University in Cairo hold up signs that read “My father is not a thief” during a protest against rapidly increasing tuition fees. Photo: Nouran Allam

Alumni and parents joined scores of students at the American University in Cairo to protest against the sharp increase of tuition fees, which many say are beyond their economic means. According to AUC’s Student Union, the administration decided to increase tuition fees following the pound float, pushing the cost of a 15-credit semester to EGP 110,000 – up from EGP 80,000 – while an 18-credit semester, which previously cost EGP 97,000 is now going to cost EGP 134,000. Students began protesting against the fee hike earlier this month when the university’s Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance, Brian MacDougall, announced via an email blast that the Central Bank of Egypt’s decision to float the pound earlier that day would affect the university’s revenues and expenses but that the administration “[does] not yet know the full impact.” In response to the backlash that followed MacDougall’s announcement, he and AUC President Francis Ricciardone held a “special forum” the following week in an attempt to address the situation and iscuss the university’s budget and the expected losses from the pound float. However, students quickly grew irritated when Ricciardone and other AUC administrative officials focused on explaining the…


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