How Egypt is promoting education for Syrian refugees
The efforts of the Egyptian government to integrate Syrian students in Egyptian schools aim to make the students feel welcome.
CAIRO — On Aug. 24, the General Administration for Community Participation affiliated with the Education Ministry organized orientation lectures for Egyptian and Syrian students and their parents at one of the schools in the 6th of October Educational Administration in Giza governorate.
The lectures were part of the “Education in a Safe Environment” project under the auspices of the Plan International organization and in coordination with the Canadian Embassy. These efforts aim at supporting Syrian students, setting the stage for their education and offering them and their parents social and psychological support in addition to economic aid. The project encourages communication between Syrian students and their Egyptian peers in Egyptian schools.
In 2012, during his opening speech at the 138th session of the Arab Foreign Ministers Council in Cairo, former President Mohammed Morsi announced that Syrian students would be charged the same school fees as Egyptian students at public schools. Previously, foreign students had paid higher fees.
According to the estimates of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2015, Egypt recorded the highest school enrollment rate for Syrian refugee children, at about 85%, amounting to 39,314 Syrian students.
