Many Arab expats and Saudi citizens in the Kingdom who are studying at Egyptians universities plan to postpone their studies due to the political turmoil plaguing the country. Many expats say they will only return to Egypt in the second semester of the upcoming academic year.
Thousands of anti-government forces continue to create security fears across Egypt, sparking violence that has killed hundreds and that has turned parts of Cairo into battlefields after police authorized the use of live ammunition.
The clashes came two days after 578 people were killed in Egypt as police cleared two Cairo protest camps set up by loyalists of ousted President Muhammad Mursi in the country’s bloodiest days in decades.
Many Sudanese, Yemeni, Egyptian, Eritrean, Syrian and Jordanian expats living in the Kingdom send their sons and daughters to study at Egyptian universities.
“I am studying business management at the University of 6 October. However, the precarious security situation in Egypt has led me to postpone my studies there. I prefer to begin studying in the second semester, hoping the situation will improve by then,” says 20-year-old Muhanned Ismael, a Sudanese resident living in Jeddah.
Egyptian authorities have imposed a nine-hour curfew during nighttime hours. Many foreign students view this curfew as restrictive to their movement in the country.
There are more than 539,000 foreign students enrolled within state universities in Egypt and 462,000 foreign students at private universities.
There are also 5,934 students enrolled at business schools and law and engineering colleges.
“I have had to postpone my studies in Egypt due to security fears. I hope that life will be back to normal within three months,” said Ali Ahmed, an Eritrean resident in Jeddah who is studying at the University of Cairo.
“I wanted to study IT at the American University in Cairo (AUC) in the new academic year. However, the university is located near Al-Tahrir square. Therefore, I have no choice but to wait,” says Adnan Al-Halabi, a Syrian resident in Jeddah.
Foreign students in Egypt to postpone their studies
