How Can Hundreds of Sudanese Students Be Saved from Brokers in Egyptian High Schools?

Cairo – Sudanhorizon – Sabah Moussa

The date for the Egyptian high school exams is approaching, fifteenth of June, along with the dream of hundreds of Sudanese students who wanted to transfer their papers to Egyptian schools to obtain this certificate, at the background of the circumstances and complexities of the war situation, compelling some students to try continue their studies and catch up with Egyptian universities.
However, education brokers from Sudan,themselves Sudanese , have ruined this dream, at the end of a whole year of studying, attending, and reading, and after taking tens of thousands of Egyptian pounds from the students, they could not guarantee them a seat for the exams.

Sudanese Centers

The story began when Egyptian schools demanded obtaining residency first before enrolling in them. Due to the difficulty of this procedure for some, a large number of Sudanese students decided to join some Sudanese centers that promised to teach the Egyptian curriculum and enroll them in the Egyptian high school exams, coordinating with Egyptian authorities to arrange this matter.

Dubious centers

Among these Sudanese centers, there are centers said to be affiliated with ‘Abazar Al Kouda,’ the owner of the well-known Sudanese schools, according to what parents told Sudanhorizon.’ Among these centers is a center called ‘The Future’ in the al-Haram area for studying the Egyptian secondary school system. In fact, 375 students applied to enroll in this center, in addition to 3 other centers said to be affiliated with al-Kouda, scattered throughout Giza, with around 1200 students studying the Egyptian general secondary curriculum. However, the administration of ‘The Future’ center stated that they have not been able to obtain the registration numbers so far. Parents gathered in front of the center on Monday to protest this issue, and the Egyptian police dispersed them. The supervisors of the center evacuated the premises with dubious promises that they would try to obtain the registration numbers, and if they could not, they would teach them the Sudanese curriculum so they could enter the Sudanese certificate exams next December!

Whooping expenses

We spoke to one parent who preferred to remain anonymous, clarifying that he registered his daughter at ‘The Future’ center affiliated with Abazar al-Kouda last October, and an initial fee of 30,000 Egyptian pounds was paid, in addition to a fee of 2,000 pounds for registration, and another thousand in addition to 3,500 pounds for transportation.
A parent told “Sudanhorizon” that they were informed there are fees for adjusting the situation amounting to 7,000 pounds, then they said there are an additional 5,000 pounds, plus an extra 1,500 pounds. The parent added that the total amount, including the adjustment fees, reached 13,500 Egyptian pounds to obtain the seating number. He added that the forms were supposed to be filled out to receive the seating numbers last Thursday, only to be surprised by the administration’s procrastination in delivery, with the supervisors at the center withdrawing, repeating, “May God compensate you, this is God’s will.”
He noted that what made them trust these centers is that they managed last year to enable Sudanese students to sit for the Egyptian secondary school exams. He said they promised us that they would secure an exemption for the circumstances of the war, questioning whether they would be able to do that with only a few days left until the exam. He continued that the supervisors at the center told us that if they couldn’t manage it, they would teach your children the Sudanese curriculum so they could sit for the Sudanese certificate exam in December. He added that what makes us skeptical is that they told us that the Koda has nothing to do with these centers, and they are certainly lying. Our interlocutor continued, stating that the agent of these centers addressed the parents asking them not to raise the issue in social media so that the employer would not be harmed, implying that the responsibility lies not with them but with the Egyptian authorities, considering this a denial of failure and deceit.
He stated that the scapegoat is the Egyptian state that has honored and hosted us, adding that this matter needs to be clarified and detailed information needs to be provided to the official bodies and the Sudanese public so that this does not happen again in the future.

What should we do?

One of the parents expressed sadness over the lack of organization in these centers. She told “Sudanhorizon” that ‘’we as families have committed to everything they asked and we constantly asked and followed up with them, and they assured us that everything was fine, ‘’ adding that they heard by chance and were not informed that they would not receive the seating numbers, and when they asked them, they said, ‘What can we do for you?’ She continued, ‘This is our children’s future after a full year of study,’ appealing to any official Sudanese or Egyptian authority to intervene to resolve this issue so that this year is not wasted for their children.
In a last chance, we contacted the director of the Future Center, Samah Mubarak, who confirmed that efforts are underway to resolve the problem. Mubarak, appearing confused, told “Sudanhorizon” that the center has 165 students, and that they have only received 23,000 Egyptian pounds from the students.
She added that there is a decision from the Egyptian Minister of Education this year not to allow foreign students to sit for the exams, but we will try.
She continued that the head of the center is working with several parties to solve the problem and asked for a final opportunity until next Wednesday.

We will not intervene

While the Cultural Attache at the Sudanese embassy in Cairo, Dr. Asim Ahmed Hassan, confirmed that Al-Kouda has made no contact with the embassy regarding this matter and that he is coordinating with the Egyptian authorities and not with us.
Hassan told Sudanhorizon that the embassy cannot intervene in this matter because it did not come through them, clarifying that the correct procedure is for the Sudanese student who wishes to transfer to the Egyptian secondary system to go back one year, as the Egyptian student studies for 12 years to reach the general secondary level, while the Sudanese student only studies for 11 years. He said these centers do not do that and resort to what is called ‘’reconciling the situation’’, which involves uncalculated risks, stressing that the embassy is not a party in the matter and cannot intervene.
‘I have no connection’
We confronted Al-Kooda himself with all these accusations and complaints, but he denied any connection to these centers. Al-Kouda told ‘sudanhorizon’ that he only teaches the Sudanese curriculum and denied any responsibility for teaching any Egyptian curriculum since last year on his official social media pages, adding that those who run these centers used to work with him before, but they are now responsible for teaching the Egyptian curricula.
He added, ‘My school is official, not a center,’ and said he believes that the problem in these centers is an age issue. He stated that it seems that those teaching the Egyptian curriculum are young and therefore did not receive exam numbers, and these centers should have warned the parents from the beginning.

Shortlink: https://sudanhorizon.com/?p=5874