{"id":555466,"date":"2021-11-15T04:01:09","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T04:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/egypts-k-12-private-schools-generally-dont-offer-scholarships-heres-why\/"},"modified":"2021-11-15T04:01:09","modified_gmt":"2021-11-15T04:01:09","slug":"egypts-k-12-private-schools-generally-dont-offer-scholarships-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"blackboard","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/egypts-k-12-private-schools-generally-dont-offer-scholarships-heres-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Egypt\u2019s K-12 private schools generally don\u2019t offer scholarships. Here\u2019s why."},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Egypt\u2019s K-12 private schools generally don\u2019t offer scholarships. Why is this? <\/strong>Unlike schools in the UK and US, very few of Egypt\u2019s K-12 private for-profit schools offer academic or non-academic scholarships designed to broaden access. Private schools are legally obligated to set aside 5% of their collective annual tuition fees to offer financial aid, but discounts usually go to existing students whose families are facing financial hardship, under a charitable model, as we reported last week<\/a>. Today we ask why that is.<\/p>\n

A matter of costs and a lack of desire to broaden access: <\/strong><\/sup>Officials we\u2019ve spoken with agree this is a trend, offering several compelling suggestions as to why. Cost appears to play a role: there\u2019s little advantage to the private school for-profit business model in offering scholarships \u2014 which are expensive to sustain. But sources also note that enhancing accessibility to top private schools is really not a priority \u2014 or even a conversation taking place \u2014 within the broader community.<\/p>\n

For Egypt\u2019s private K-12 schools, offering scholarships isn\u2019t seen as necessary for their business models. <\/strong>\u201cMost private schools here have such long waiting lists, that they don\u2019t need to offer scholarships from a business perspective,\u201d says one school leader, speaking off the record.<\/p>\n

For international schools in particular, high tuition fees come with the territory:<\/strong> For international schools, in Egypt and the region, high tuition fees are factored into their business models, notes AIS Director Kapono Ciotti. \u201cThese schools are expensive to run and usually exist for a purpose,\u201d he adds. \u201cThey\u2019re either serving local clientele, who can afford to send their children to them. Or they\u2019re serving international clientele who are in the country for a reason. Then the prevailing thought is that their employers can afford to pay for the schools.\u201d El Alsson Executive Director Karim Rogers conveys a similar message: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say we\u2019re substantially expensive, but we are an expensive school relative to others.\u201d CAC and BISC \u2014 <\/strong>both widely believed<\/a> to be among the most expensive of Cairo\u2019s international schools \u2014 didn\u2019t respond to our requests for comment<\/strong> on issues addressed in this story.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s normal to see more interest in offering scholarships in higher education as a means of making a more direct, short-term, impact.<\/strong><\/sup> Generally, scholarship providers are more interested in funding programs of relatively short duration, where beneficiaries have demonstrated a clear commitment to their goals, Newton Education Services Director Nelly Elzayat tells Enterprise. This way, providers aren\u2019t committing funds for a very long period, and they feel they\u2019re making a very focused investment, she adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven at the university level, we also see more people wanting to fund graduate scholarships than undergraduate scholarships in Egypt, for this reason,\u201d<\/strong> says Elzayat. And I think you can apply the same logic to K-12 scholarships.\u201d Ciotti agrees that this is an observable trend, even globally. \u201cThe higher up you go, the more interest there is in funding scholarships.\u201d<\/p>\n

But beyond financial considerations, some seem to not want to broaden access in K-12 private schools altogether:<\/strong> There are many social reasons for limiting financial aid and access to private K-12 schools, says Rogers. Offering financial aid to students from very underprivileged backgrounds would see private schools inundated with scholarship requests, while children from marginalized backgrounds would have trouble integrating, he believes. Of El Alsson, he notes \u201cwe are a socially selective school.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think class systems in Egypt are perceived and accepted as fairly static,\u201d <\/strong>notes Ciotti. The idea of transcending class \u2014 so prevalent in the US as a concept \u2014 doesn\u2019t really apply in Egypt, he adds.<\/p>\n

Some are trying to change this:<\/strong> Egypt Education Platform (formerly GEMS Egypt) <\/sup><\/sup>\u2014 one of the very few institutions we found that does offer academic scholarships \u2014 says it\u2019s specifically trying to increase diversity. EEP sees its platform as one that offers quality education to all segments, says Director of Communications Amr Sherif. \u201cYou\u2019ll find diversity in our programs, where we give these chances because we want to enable our students to develop their skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sherif notes that talented students from less wealthy backgrounds clearly benefit academically from formal scholarship programs: <\/strong>One EEP scholarship beneficiary moved from a national curriculum school to an international curriculum school, and is now one of the top in her class academically, as well as being a great athlete, says Sherif.<\/p>\n

El Alsson, which doesn\u2019t offer formal academic scholarships, also saw positive results from sponsoring a talented student \u2014 but as a charitable endeavor. <\/strong>El Alsson co-sponsored an academically outstanding student, after being approached by the parents of an existing student who suggested the idea as charity, says Rogers. \u201cWe did this for one student, who was a genius. He did come from a different social background. The parents who suggested it told us he was phenomenal. They sponsored a bit and we sponsored the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

But across the board, increasing social diversity at Egypt\u2019s private schools doesn\u2019t seem to be a priority. <\/strong>It\u2019s seen as much more pressing to support less financially privileged students to go to good universities than to support them to go to top schools, note Elzayat and Eduhive\u2019s Karim Mostafa. \u201cAt the university level, even a lay person knows that some people, if they don\u2019t get financial support, won\u2019t make it to university,\u201d says Elzayat. \u201cBut people don\u2019t make the same connection at the K-12 level.\u201d<\/p>\n

For many, the idea simply isn\u2019t on their radars: <\/strong>Within the K-12 industry, the perception is that because K-12 education is mandatory, parents will do everything they can to ensure their children can access the best prospects available to them, says Sherif. \u201cSo I don\u2019t think most K-12 schools think scholarships or financial aid is necessary.\u201d Elzayat agrees: \u201cThere\u2019s an assumption that everyone will end up going to school somehow.\u201d The idea of giving more people access to better schooling isn\u2019t on many people\u2019s radars, she adds.<\/p>\n

I<\/strong>t\u2019s worth noting that AUC \u2014 generally regarded as Egypt\u2019s most elite institution \u2014 has a scholarship program specifically to enhance accessibility. <\/strong>The Public School Scholarship Fund (PSSF)<\/a> targets Egyptian public school graduates, covering tuition and fees for all recipients, and housing and transportation for some. \u201cAUC's scholarship program is designed to increase access to AUC and ensure we\u2019re recruiting the very best students from a diverse pool,\u201d Provost Ehab Abdel Rahman tells Enterprise.<\/p>\n

\n

Your top education stories for the week:<\/strong><\/p>\n