{"id":555275,"date":"2021-11-08T04:00:34","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T04:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/scholarships-arent-popular-at-egypts-k-12-private-schools-heres-why\/"},"modified":"2021-11-08T04:00:34","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T04:00:34","slug":"scholarships-arent-popular-at-egypts-k-12-private-schools-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"blackboard","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/scholarships-arent-popular-at-egypts-k-12-private-schools-heres-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Scholarships aren\u2019t popular at Egypt\u2019s K-12 private schools. Here\u2019s why."},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Scholarships aren\u2019t popular at Egypt\u2019s K-12 private schools. Instead, most adopt a <\/strong>charitable<\/strong> model to offer aid if necessary. <\/strong>The availability of scholarships \u2014 particularly for academic excellence \u2014 in K-12 private schools in Egypt is strikingly low, especially compared to the UK and US. A few private schools offer academic or non-academic scholarships, but from what we\u2019ve found, they\u2019re rare. Instead, any kind of financial aid is almost always awarded to existing students \u2014 often to mitigate financial hardship.<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t it a global norm to offer very few K-12 level scholarships? Not really.<\/strong> Over GBP 1 bn a year in financial support is available to UK parents whose children attend private secondary schools, the Financial Times reported in 2019<\/a>. This means one in three private school students could have their school fees reduced or even waived, it noted. \u201cThe situation in the US is similar to the UK, where there\u2019s more of a parallel between scholarships offered at the K-12 and university levels,\u201d AIS Director Kapono Ciotti tells Enterprise. \u201cHere it\u2019s clear that university scholarships are available, but there aren\u2019t really any for K-12 students,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

In Egypt, scholarships for students to attend K-12 private schools are rare: <\/strong>Regent British School Principal Claire Rowland tells Enterprise she isn\u2019t aware of any K-12 private schools in Egypt having dedicated scholarship programs. AIS doesn\u2019t have a formal scholarship program, Ciotti notes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very unusual here at the K-12 level,\u201d<\/strong> agrees Egypt Education Platform (EEP) \u2014 formerly GEMS Egypt \u2014 Director of Communications Amr Sherif, who\u2019s spent some 14 years helping develop university scholarship programs in and out of Egypt.<\/p>\n

EEP is actively trying to buck the trend in Egypt: <\/strong>EEP sees its K-12 scholarship program \u2014 designed in part as an adaptation of university scholarship programs \u2014 as unique, says Sherif. It has a newly-launched raft of scholarships, introduced a year ago. \u201cWe hope the wider industry follows us, because we\u2019re trying to disrupt the system \u2014 in a healthy way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Its scholarships include several promoting K-12 academic excellence: <\/strong>Every year, EEP will select six academically outstanding students from years 6-9 in its national curriculum schools to transfer to its international curriculum schools, while continuing to pay national school rates, says Sherif. Financially, this involves \u201cextremely significant\u201d subsidies from EEP, he notes. \u201cAverage annual tuition at our British schools is EGP 135k, while in the national curriculum schools it\u2019s EGP 25k.\u201d And every year, two students in years 11 and 12 from every EEP international school will receive a scholarship covering 50% of their fees, and three students will receive one covering 25%, he says.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve found only one other private school clearly doing something similar: <\/strong>Green Land International School offers scholarships recognizing \u201cexceptional academic achievements,\u201d its website shows<\/a>. These range from 25-100% of school tuition fees. It\u2019s unclear how many scholarships are available every year, as the school didn\u2019t respond to our request for comment.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, both EEP and El Alsson offer non-academic scholarships: <\/strong>Every year, two students in years 11 and 12 from each of EEP\u2019s international schools receive scholarships covering 15% of their fees, for excellence in areas including music, art and sports, says Sherif. El Alsson usually offers two \u2018Director\u2019s Scholarships\u2019 a year to students of any age deemed to be excellent all-rounders, Executive Director Karim Rogers tells Enterprise. \u201cWe don\u2019t necessarily target students with the most outstanding grades. We look for students with good grades, who also give back to the school community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schools, however, <\/strong>sometimes<\/strong><\/sup> offer financial aid if the families of existing students fall on hard times: <\/strong>Needs-based financial aid programs appear to be very widespread in Egypt. \u201cOur board does support families that need support, but it's on an informal case-by-case basis,\u201d says Ciotti. Gateway International Montessori and Al Manhal Language School are among the multiple institutions offering this kind of financial aid, teachers tell Enterprise off the record.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a requirement by law for private schools to dedicate 5% of their annual tuition fees to go towards financial aid for students who meet the criteria for <\/strong>lowered tuition<\/strong><\/sup>,<\/strong> says Islam Saeed, partner at Matouk Bassiouny. But the schools themselves can decide according to their internal policy what that criteria is \u2014 and which students are eligible for it, though they must supply the education ministry with a list of students receiving aid, he adds.<\/p>\n

Regulators don\u2019t get a say in how much aid is offered: <\/strong>Aid provided at El Alsson is determined by school owners and board members, says Rogers. \u201cIf you want to deduct 10%, 20%, 50%, it\u2019s up to you. Regulators don\u2019t look at what you do,\u201d he says. In the case of the schools we spoke to, it\u2019s unclear how substantial the fee breaks<\/sup> offered are and whether they\u2019re usually considered grants or loans. \u201cAnything we offer is done discreetly,\u201d Rogers adds. It\u2019s essentially a form of charity, he notes.<\/p>\n

And covid has obviously upped the number of families that might need financial support,<\/strong> says Rogers. El Alsson always tries to support families who have a history of paying fees on time, but are struggling financially during covid. \u201cWe won\u2019t put more pressure on them. So there\u2019s been a board decision to keep some families off the books for the time being.\u201d Still, this can\u2019t continue indefinitely, he adds. \u201cThere has been a substantial increase during covid. And we as a school have to take care, as we can\u2019t really sustain it.\u201d The school has provided multiple flexible payment options to try to ease financial pressures on families, he adds.<\/p>\n

So why do so many of Egypt\u2019s private schools generally eschew scholarships in favor of a charitable model?<\/strong> Though no one seems to know for sure, it\u2019s thought that in Egypt a combination of cost considerations are among the factors that keep scholarship rare<\/sup>, sources tell Enterprise. We\u2019ll explore this in more detail next week.<\/p>\n

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