Egypt’s higher fees to impact Malaysian students

A surprise hike in tuition fees across Egypt’s higher learning institutions, with the most impact on medical and pharmacy studies.

Besides the political unrest that Egypt is facing, higher education in both public and private universities is taking a painful hit as increasing tuition fees is left in the hands of universities. The entire hike has been unregulated and was not made public. Instead, students were surprised to find that some universities have tripled their tuition fees without prior notice.

It is particularly more difficult and complicated for medical and pharmacy students as some universities have increased their tuition because of ranking and reputation. However, many have voiced out that the quality of education has not improved and the syllabus has not changed. Additionally, laboratories and practical study facilities are poorly equipped and in terrible condition. According to students, there is no air conditioning or fans in these laboratories and other vital facilities.

Students in private universities will be forced to pay as much as five times higher tuition than those in public universities.

Ahmed Al Jundi, former vice-dean of postgraduate studies at Tanta University says: "Simply, universities want to make more income and increasing tuition fees on a per hour basis can be considered an excellent way to get the needed income. Many degree holders, particularly in the medical field, are required to pay much higher fees to continue their postgraduate education as it is a state requirement to open a clinic."

Al Jundi added that universities should consider the student's economic situation before increasing tuition, particularly under the current circumstances where many employees are underpaid and can barely make ends meet.

Malaysian students

Many Malaysians are attracted to study Islamic and medical studies, among other fields, in Egypt and are subjected to international rate of the tuition fees, which is significantly higher than the fees paid by local students.

The current hike is prevalent in the medical field. While it is still significantly cheaper to study medicine in Egypt compared to Malaysia, Malaysian students should expect to pay higher fees than ever due to the drop in the price of the Ringgit and higher tuition across all universities.

Converting Ringgit Malaysia to USD is a more expensive these days. The cost of medical studies in Egypt's private universities is US$8,000 - US$9,000 (RM32,900 - RM37,000) annually. Additionally, adding the cost of living and the yearly study visa issues, the total cost per year can be as high as US$14,000 (RM57,555).

The issue

The issue, as of today, is that there is no formal statement by the Egyptian authorities to confirm or deny the matter. However, rumours are circulating regarding international students' fees suggesting that study fees for international students might climb even higher. Additionally, there seems to be a policy in place by private institutions to raise tuition by 5% annually.