Back in February 2019, the Egyptian government announced its plan to build eight international universities in the New Administrative Capital by 2020. These ambitious plans coincide with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s decision, officially declared during a national youth conference held at Cairo University in late July 2018, for 2019 to be Egypt’s ‘Year of Education.’ Essentially part of a broader vision to reform the Egyptian educational system, the president proceeded to issue Law No. 162 of 2018, which stipulates that scientifically accredited foreign universities are allowed to establish branches in Egypt with the aim of developing the country’s higher education and scientific research. More generally, this move is perceived to enhance ties and improve exchange between the local education system “and its counterparts in the developed countries,” as reported by Egypt Independent at the time. This apparent surge of foreign or international influence in the sphere of education is, however, not really a new phenomenon in Egypt, nor in other countries across the Global South, for that matter. Foreign Education: Historical Roots The early presence of foreign higher education can be traced back to the colonial period in the…
Foreign University Branches in Egypt: Raising Local Standards or a Form of Neocolonialism?
June 7, 2019
