((Quoted from the official page of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research))

Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research chairs the meeting of the Council of National Universities.

Dr. Ayman Ashour appreciates the efforts of Egyptian universities in maximizing the use of their assets and investing their resources to provide a new level of educational services.

The Minister of Higher Education emphasizes that national universities should offer intercultural programs tailored to the development needs of each university's geographical region.

Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, chaired the meeting of the Council of National Universities, in the presence of Dr. Maher Mesbah, Secretary of the Council, members of the Council, and several of the ministry's leaders, at the ministry's headquarters in the new administrative capital.

At the beginning of the meeting, the board extended sincere thanks and appreciation to President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi for his continuous support for the higher education system and for issuing 12 republican decrees to establish new National universities, including: (Suez National University, Damanhur National University, Cairo National University, Ain Shams National University, Sohag National University, Kafr El Sheikh National University, New Valley National University, Fayoum National University, Tanta National University, Luxor National University, Damietta National University, and Sadat City National University.)

The minister explained that national universities have become a strong addition to the Egyptian higher education system, and have achieved remarkable progress since the beginning of their work; thus, they earned the trust of the Egyptian community of students and parents, as they represent a pioneering model in providing high-quality modern education based on the link between knowledge and application.

The minister noted his recent visit to Fayoum National University and Damietta National University, praising the two universities, and praised the achievements of Egyptian universities in maximizing the use of their assets by establishing national universities affiliated with public universities and re-exploiting their material and human potential to provide a new level of educational service to keep up with the latest developments, thanking the public universities for their role in achieving this experience.

The minister also noted the political leadership's directive to hold intensive workshops in the coming period to maximize the academic and research role of universities, and the workshops are scheduled to start at Cairo University.

During the meeting, the minister confirmed the readiness of national universities to commence studies in the academic year 2025/2026, emphasizing the need to complete all academic and logistical preparations, provide modern infrastructure, specialized laboratories, and administrative structures that ensure effective performance before the university's operation. He also directed that the focus in national universities should be on offering intercultural programs that suit the geographical region surrounding the university and help students join the labor market, in addition to emphasizing support for partnerships with relevant international universities and integration with public universities to ensure the financial and academic sustainability of the two universities (the founding university and the affiliated national university), in the context of continuous coordination between the tributaries of the Egyptian higher education system.

The minister also directed the continuation of the work of the committee formed to provide scholarships at national universities for outstanding and distinguished students, according to clear principles and criteria, in recognition of their efforts and academic excellence, as part of the ministry's strategy aimed at nurturing outstanding and innovative students and motivating them to continue excellence and innovation, which contributes to preparing distinguished national cadres capable of facing future challenges and participating effectively in achieving sustainable development and building a knowledge society. He also directed the committee to support social and humanitarian cases.

The council agreed to form an advisory committee for the committee to select the presidents of national universities, with the membership of Dr. Nasser El-Gizawy, president of Benha University, and Counselor Dr. Atef Omar, legal advisor to the Minister of Higher Education, as well as the committee may draw upon whomever it deems appropriate. The committee is responsible for examining any grievances submitted to it regarding candidates for the position of national university president. The committee is also responsible for examining any issues referred to it by the Minister of Higher Education and the President of the Council of National Universities related to its field of work, and submits its recommendations to the Council of Private Universities.

Dr. Maher Mesbah, secretary of the Council of National Universities, explained that the meeting reviewed the report of the committee formed to review the bylaws of national universities that are not contributed by public universities, regarding the formation of boards of trustees and university presidents, and some other provisions.

The board was informed of a draft cooperation protocol between the public university and the national university affiliated with it, to regulate the relationship between the two universities.

The council decided to confirm the previous decision regarding the tuition refund system in case students withdraw from universities.

Dr. Adel Abdel Ghaffar, the ministry's official spokesperson, explained that the council approved the mechanisms of grants and exemption from various tuition fees from national universities for the beneficiaries of the fund honoring the martyrs, victims, missing, and injured of military and terrorist operations and their families.

He added that the council took note of the report of the technical committee formed to study the rules of scholarships for admission to national universities according to the presidential decree issued in this regard, at 10% of the number of students to be admitted annually, for each faculty separately.

The board confirmed the continuation of the rules for admitting students who have obtained (Al-Azhar high school certificate, five-year technical high school certificate, three-year technical high school certificate, and two-year intermediate institutes certificate) to enroll in national universities, as well as the rules for accepting international students with certificates: (technical high school diploma - institute diploma) to enroll in private universities.

The Council was also informed of the renewal of the scholarship agreement for a double bachelor's degree program in the fields of applied foreign languages between the French National University in Egypt and the New Sorbonne University in France.