EGYPT: Uncertain future for e-university

Yasser al-Dakrouri, manager of a project to set up Egypt's first electronic university, doubts it will happen any time soon. He has secured approval from various agencies, including the governmental Higher Council for Universities which licenses institutions: "But the electronic university cannot operate without a presidential decree, for which we are still waiting," al-Dakrouri told University World News. "I think the state is not yet convinced of the idea of learning via the internet."


The envisaged university will have three branches in Egypt - in Cairo, the Arab world's most populous capital of around 16 million people, the Nile Delta city of Tanta, and Assiut, some 370 kilometres south of Cairo. "Studies will focus on two fields: information technology and business administration," says al-Dakrouri. It will be a private non-profit university run in collaboration with higher education institutions in Italy, Canada and the United States.

Abdullah Barakat, president of the public University of Helwan, believes the time is not yet ripe for recognising e-universities in this country of nearly 79 million. "Priority should now be given to overhauling the system of education as a whole in Egypt by sealing partnership pacts with European countries, which have advanced education standards," says Barakat.

"When education is significantly developed in Egypt, then we can talk about introducing learning via the internet." He argues that the authorities are adopting a realistic and public interest-oriented approach towards "so-called e-education, whose institutions are mostly located outside Egypt".

Controversy over e-education in Egypt, which has 18 state and 16 private universities, comes just a few months before it hosts a major conference on education through the internet. Due to be held in October, the conference will be attended by experts in education technology from around the world, according to its organisers.

"The Egyptian government should recognise electronic universities and e-education in general for being advanced tools of learning," says Mohamed Abdel Fattah, chairman of the Technological and Human Development Society, a non-government organisation. It is organising the upcoming conference under the auspices of Egypt's Ministries of Information Technology, Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Fattah argues that e-education offers the advantages of not requiring full-time study and of opening access to a large number of experts at low cost. Also: "This education can meet the needs of increasing numbers of students and cover the requirements of the job market in an era of communication and knowledge revolution. We should not lag behind."

He added that the Egyptian government would be urged during the October conference to take a clear position on this "vital" issue.