Talk shows zero in on the STEM graduation crisis

On the airwaves last night: The university admissions crisis for STEM graduates remains unresolved despite parliamentary demands. The issue arose when officials canceled the students' geographic distribution exemption — reversing a decision issued last month — which now prevents top-tier graduates from attending major universities outside their home regions.

Parental backlash: In a phone interview with El Sora’s Lamees El Hadidi, Fatima Sayed, a parent, described the decision as a "geographic distribution guillotine" because it allocates only one or two seats for STEM graduates per faculty across the country. Sayed expressed her astonishment that some students were forced to choose programs unrelated to their specialization at these schools, such as nursing, due to the admissions system. "My son created an invention to generate electricity from gravity, and whenever I talk to him about it, he says, 'Where would I take this? I'm not even guaranteed a spot in engineering,'" Sayed said. (watch, runtime: 7:28)

What now? El Hadidi also addressed the Higher Education Minister. “We are working on education reform... What comes next? Especially when there are 1.9k students [from these schools' graduates] that [the government] spent money on, invested effort in, handpicked carefully, and who worked hard and got the highest grades. In the end, will they be discarded just because of geographical boundaries?! A response is needed from the Higher Education Ministry, because rules must be flexible for the good of the country."

Parliamentary backlash: It is worth noting that a number of MPs called on the government to review the decision, and urged reconsidering the approach taken toward graduates of these schools as they transition to university education.

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