Targeted especially to Arab and African students, The Egyptian Initiative for Scholarships and Educational Tourism (EGYAID) is part of a broader project under Egypt’s National Strategy for Higher Education 2030.

At , Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Ayman Ashour explained that the EGYAID initiative is based around seven student-focused principles.

• “We take care of you
• We welcome the world
• You are in your second country
• You are integrated
• You are innovative
• You are an ambassador”

“We are preparing the appropriate environment for foreign students, so that innovation and creativity are integrated within the educational process,” said the Minister.

One of the cornerstones of EGYAID is the new educational visa for visiting students, which grants them all of the rights associated with residency during their stay, including access to health services and other social supports.

The initiative also provides for a new scholarship programme – the deadline for which is 15 September – that provides for a 50% reduction in tuition fees for graduate students and a 25% reduction for undergraduate studies.

Reflecting a “whole of government” approach for the EGYAID initiative, several other government ministries have joined to offer additional incentives and supports for visiting students. These include:

• A 50% discount on domestic transportation and communications charges
• A 50% discount for students visiting archaeological sites
• A 50% discount on concerts and cultural performances
• A 25% discount on travel via EgyptAir for students and family members

Ministry figures indicate that there were nearly 35,000 international applicants for undergraduate studies at Egyptian universities in 2022/23 – an increase of roughly 33% compared to the year before. The ministry reports as well that three out of every four applicants were offered a spot at one of the country’s universities.

Top sending markets for Egypt have historically included UAE, Germany, Turkey, the US, Saudi Arabia, and Ukraine. The cost of a degree programme in Egypt ranges from US$7,000-US$15,000 a year, and students can choose from roughly 20 public universities and higher institutes of technical and professional training and the same number of private institutions. Two Egyptian universities are ranked in the QS top 1000: Cairo University and Ain Shams University in Cairo.

“Egypt has many advantages that could make it a hub for educational tourism,” Magdi Tawfik Abdelhamid, research professor of plant physiology at Cairo’s National Research Centre, explained to .

“Besides the low cost of living for students in Egypt compared to Western countries and competitive tuition fees compared to the rest of the world, English is the language of instruction in scientific, medical, and allied medical faculties and in many other disciplines. The new initiative will help Egypt get a higher share of the global educational tourism market.”

For additional background, please see:

• “Inbound and outbound student trends for South Africa, Egypt, and Morocco“
• “A primer on international student recruitment in Egypt“
• “Closer to home: Intra-regional mobility in Asia“

The post Egypt rolls out new scholarships and residency rights in bid for more foreign students appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

Speaking at the recent ���Ϲ��� Africa event, Ms Akpo-Edewor explained that Nigerians are also facing another important hurdle this year in that access to foreign exchange is currently limited. “Students are struggling to get forex to pay their fees. There are long queues at the bank because our forex policy is controlled entirely by the Central Bank of Nigeria. So for a student to get school fees paid, you need to go through the Central Bank of Nigeria and as we speak there is a lack of forex.”

A recent report from the think tank and advocacy platform explains the current situation as, “There is excess demand for dollars against the naira to import products (such as petrol, gas, power sources, and automobiles) and [pay for] foreign services (such as school fees, medical services, foreign holidays, and foreign loans).”

Part of that demand is being met by the so-called parallel market – that is, a black market for foreign exchange trading outside of official CBN channels. But the cost of foreign currency has been rising this year in both official and unofficial markets, due to surging demand from Nigerian families and businesses alongside a significant devaluation of the Nigerian naira this year.

Tight controls from the central bank

As in many countries around the world, inflation is also playing an important part in the Nigerian economy this year, rising above forecasts to reach nearly 18% in May 2022. The government, and the central bank, are moving to counter the threat of inflation with higher interest rates. Unlike many other economies around the world, however, the Central Bank of Nigeria also plays an outsized role with respect to exchange rates and access to foreign currency. There are times, for example, where the central bank simply cuts off the supply of foreign currency to other exchange outlets within Nigeria. This further fuels demand for forex in the black market, as a recent item from explains:

“One of the major causes of the double digit inflation experienced by Nigerians in 2021, is the sharp depreciation of the Naira in the parallel market, where most businesses and individuals depend for the foreign exchange needs in 2021.

While the naira depreciated marginally by 1.1% in the official Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, where the exchange rate rose to N415.10 per dollar from N410.25 per dollar at the beginning of the year, the naira depreciated by 22.8% in the parallel market.

The sharp depreciation of the naira in the parallel market was driven by increased demand amidst low dollar supply, a situation worsened by the July 27 decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to stop dollar sales to Bureaux De Change (BDCs).”

The bank’s heavy hand with respect to the forex supply is informed in part by the government’s interest in propping up the value of the naira — in that sense, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, and access to foreign currency are all strongly intertwined elements of the Nigerian economy.

As African Liberty explains, “Nigeria’s external [foreign currency] reserve is usually used as a backup for the international value of the naira, and it is constantly under pressure because of the volatility and uncertainty of crude oil prices, which is a significant FX earner for the country. The West African country is also dealing with high government indebtedness, which weakens the naira.”

A large and complex market

Even so, demand for study abroad remains strong and is strengthening further this year. There are not nearly enough seats in Nigerian universities to keep pace with demand, and rising security concerns at home — some political, others related to ongoing strikes and labour disruptions – are further motivating parents to enrol their students abroad.

Indeed, Nigeria remains one of the largest and fastest-growing markets for outbound students on the continent. UNESCO reported that 70,000-80,000 Nigerians were going abroad for higher education annually in the years leading up to the pandemic. But this number also certainly undercounts the numbers of students moving to neighbouring countries in Africa, such as Ghana.

Adedamola Oloketuyi is the director of AOC Schengen, a Germany-based agency focused on advising Nigerian students on study in Europe. Also on the panel at ���Ϲ��� Africa, he reflected on the scale and complexity of the Nigerian market: “Nigeria has more than 80 million youth but very few universities to cater to them. Nigerian students have a culture of going abroad for study, not just because of the education but because of the opportunities [they can find abroad] as well. The advice for any school [recruiting in Nigeria] is you have to know your target market.” The country is remarkably different from region to region he adds, and even from tribe to tribe. “There is a market for everybody, it just depends on who you are targeting.”

For additional background, please see:

• “Nigeria: Most students want to study abroad but many also need financial aid“
• “Alarm sounded over low approval rates for African students hoping to study in Canada“
• “Demand-side data provides further evidence of shifts in Nigerian study abroad“

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Importantly, students from countries on the latest travel ban are not explicitly prevented from obtaining F-1 student visas to come to study in the US. As President Trump notes in the text of the executive order:

“I have decided not to impose any non-immigrant visa restrictions for the newly identified countries, which substantially reduces the number of people affected by the proposed restrictions.”

That said, the overall effect of the travel ban will likely be to intensify scrutiny of all citizens from countries on the list, which will potentially make it more difficult for students from the targeted countries from obtaining student visas. Already, there are stories and rumours circulating in Nigeria about being applied to Nigerian applicants for US study visas.

The rationale behind the expansion

The new immigration ban list emerges as a result of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) worldwide review of threats to US security – including threats caused by non-cooperative governments or governments unable to provide sufficient data to DHS – conducted between March 2019 and September 2019.

The DHS relies on three main factors to determine which countries will be subject to travel and/or immigration restrictions, according to the executive order:

“Whether a foreign government engages in reliable identity-management practices and shares relevant information; whether a foreign government shares national security and public-safety information; and whether a country otherwise poses a national security or public-safety risk.”

Nigeria’s inclusion particularly concerning

For US educators, the inclusion of Nigeria is particularly troubling. Nigeria is easily one of the most important sending markets in Africa and the US is a preferred destination for Nigerian students. In early 2019, nearly 16,000 Nigerian students were enrolled in US education institutions. Nigeria is currently the seventh most-populous country in the world and the UN expects it to be the third largest by 2100.

Research from the underlines a common trajectory of Nigerians once they come to the US: in 2016, six-in-ten (59%) of Nigerian immigrants in the US had at least a bachelor’s degree, a “share roughly double that of the overall American population.”

In 2018, 45% of Nigerian adults surveyed by Pew said they wanted to move to another country within the next five years, “by far the highest share of any country surveyed,” – a finding that underscores the degree of mobility we can expect from this important market in the future.

Travel ban can be lifted

There is hope, however, that Nigeria will not be on the ban list for long. Geoffrey Onyeama, Nigeria’s foreign minister, told the New York Times that “his government was already working to address security concerns that Trump administration officials said had prompted the decision.” He told journalists assembled at the State Department that Nigeria had already been able to “tick most of the boxes” required by the DHS’s security protocols and said,

“Hopefully, once that has been achieved, we look forward to being taken off this visa restriction list.”

The Times reports that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, standing beside Mr Onyeama, replied that “Nigeria has room to grow in sharing important national security information. I am optimistic that’s going to happen.”

Educator response

Dr Esther Brimmer, executive director and CEO of NAFSA, issued this statement in response to the latest travel ban:

“As international educators committed to fostering a peaceful, more welcoming United States, we are deeply disturbed by this latest travel ban expansion and the message it sends: that the United States is not a place that welcomes or respects people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives; or to put it simply, America is closing.

Although international students are reportedly not restricted from entering the US with this latest iteration of the travel ban, the combined effect of this policy expansion and the message it sends will undoubtedly accelerate the alarming decline of international students in the US — more than 10% over the last three years. Policies like these and the unwelcoming rhetoric from some of our nation’s leaders continue to hinder our ability to succeed in today’s global competition for talent.”

NACAC (the National Association for College Admission Counseling) echoed some of those same points in a statement of its own:

“Despite [the new travel ban] not directly impacting international students, NACAC remains concerned about the chilling effect, such as detracting from the desirability of the US as an education destination, that these travel bans have on prospective international students.”

For additional background, please visit:

• “Africa ascending: four growth markets to watch”
• “Reports of some Iranian students being detained and deported from US airports”
• “Marginal growth in foreign enrolment in the US buoyed by OPT numbers”
• “US government moving ahead with H-1B reforms while applying greater scrutiny to applicants”

The post Nigeria included in expanded US immigration ban but students can still obtain visas appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

The announcement resolves a dilemma that the country’s ELT sector has struggled with since mid-2014. Changes to the Immigration Act, which came into force in May of that year, did not provide a clear mechanism for the formal recognition of ELT providers as “learning institutions”. This led to a situation where study permits (that is, study visas) were no longer being issued for students enrolled at English language schools in South Africa.

The country’s peak ELT body, Education South Africa (EduSA), has been working in the years since to resolve the roadblocks set up by the amended legislation. However, enrolment had fallen off sharply during those years, with student numbers dropping 37% between 2014 and 2015 and student weeks down by 22%.

By July 2016, the association felt it had exhausted its options via political and bureaucratic channels, and at that point EduSA took the extraordinary action of bringing a legal action against the South African government.

That lawsuit led in turn to an 8 November court hearing, and subsequently to what EduSA terms as an “amicable settlement” with the two government ministries involved: the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Higher Education and Training.

Under the terms of the settlement announced this month, students admitted to or enrolled with the 22 EduSA member-schools will be eligible to receive a study permit for up to 18 months. Those study permits will be awarded through a Ministerial exemption and as a special dispensation exclusively for students at EduSA schools.

The settlement also provides that EduSA members will now apply for provisional registration as “learning institutions” under South African immigration legislation and with the goal of developing a clear path to government accreditation for ELT providers in South Africa. However that process unfolds, the Ministerial exemptions for EduSA students will remain in place throughout.

“The special dispensation is valid for the full duration of the accreditation process until such time that EduSA members meet the ‘learning institute’ definition requirements,” confirms EduSA Chairman Johannes Kraus. “The Department of Higher Education and Training has very kindly undertaken to assist us with registering an appropriate qualification that matches the way our industry works, essentially kick-starting a process of formalising the EFL industry in South Africa. This is tremendous news for our organisation, and we look forward to working with our partners in government over the coming months.”

In a related development, Stefanie de Saude, the immigration law specialist acting for EduSA in its lawsuit, highlighted that South African immigration officials confirmed in their answering affidavit that foreigners studying at [legitimate] institutions not falling within the definition of “learning institutions” and who accordingly do not qualify for study visas, may study on a visitor visa issued in terms of section 11(1) of the Immigration Act.

“This is the first time that clarity has been issued with regards to students studying on visitor visas, allowing South African embassies and consulates around the world to issue the respective visas more consistently,” added Ms de Saude. “This will significantly ease the entry of foreign students into our country.”

For additional background on South Africa’s ELT sector, please see:

• “Education South Africa takes government to court over visa rules”
• “South Africa’s language schools face declining enrolment due to immigration policy”

The post South African court case settled: English students now eligible for study visas appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

The extraordinary move follows nearly two years of discussion and negotiation with government departments, at the end of which the association felt it had no other option but to pursue a legal remedy. “EduSA has made repeated, concerted efforts to resolve these difficulties in dialogue with the [Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET)],” says EduSA Chair Johannes Kraus. “These efforts have failed. Despite repeated promises of assistance and/or interim solutions from the DHA, no solutions or answers have been provided.”

Under the 2014 amendment, student visas can only be issued to “learning institutions”, which include universities, further education colleges, and primary and secondary schools. Language schools, however, are excluded under the 2014 amendment, and the end result is that students or applicants intending to pursue English studies in South Africa have been unable to qualify for a study permit since.

“Currently, the regulations make provisions for visas for ‘learning institutions’, but they do not make allowance for EduSA institutions to be considered as such,” says Mr Kraus. “The case hopes to bring a change to the regulations that would see EduSA institutions legally declared as ‘learning institutions’ and allow our students to enter South Africa and commence their studies. We hope to urgently resolve this matter and allow our members, their staff and the international students to return to normal operations. The social and economic implications of any further delay in the process are too awful to consider.”

Indeed, the effects on EduSA’s 24-school membership have already been profound. The latest enrolment data shows that student numbers declined by 37% from 2014 to 2015, and student weeks by 22%. In absolute terms, student enrolment fell from a high of 10,062 in 2014 to 7,336 in 2015. Student weeks dropped from 55,394 to 45,342 over the same period.

The decline is directly attributable to the 2014 visa policy, and follows several years of steady growth for South Africa’s ELT industry, including year-over-year increases in student numbers of 4% from 2012 to 2013 and 9% from 2013 to 2014.

Affidavits filed by the association set out that the country’s ELT industry accounts for hundreds of millions of Rands in foreign investment, and is “wholly dependent upon the ability of potential foreign students to obtain the necessary visas to come to South Africa.” The documents characterise the 2014 amendments as “unreasonable, unlawful, and unconstitutional” and argue that “modern governments must regulate immigration…in a lawful, reasonable, fair, and efficient fashion.”

The affidavit notes as well that, like all other businesses, English language schools “survive on a profit margin. This margin is certainly not more than approximately 10%, in a good year. So when the industry as a whole declines by over 20%, that profit disappears. It drives language schools into operating at a loss. This is not sustainable…Furthermore, the decline is only going to continue as long as there remains no appropriate visa for EduSA students.”

The court documents make the further point that, rather than a decline from 2013 levels, ELT providers in South Africa could have reasonably expected continued growth in 2014 and 2015 given growing global demand and the average growth performance of other major ELT destinations. The association calculates the economic cost of this foregone growth, as well as the actual losses registered in 2014 and 2015, at R117 million Rand (US$8.2 million). This estimate accounts for direct tuition spending along with travel and housing expenditures.

EduSA also clearly anticipates that schools will be increasingly challenged to sustain their operations the longer they are excluded from the student visa process. EduSA Vice-Chair Torrique Borges reports that two schools – Inlingua Cape Town and English Language School (ELS) – have already been forced to close this year. Most others, he adds, “have had to reduce both their teaching as well as administrative staff numbers due to declining student enrolments because of the prevailing visa situation. Besides this, there are a number of schools who have moved to smaller premises to keep their schools more financially viable due to the current circumstances. More schools are definitely at risk of closing should the current immigration legislation remain in place.”

EduSA now hopes to secure a court date in October, “whereby the judge would then need to make a decision on interim relief for our cause,” says Mr Borges. “If everything works in our favour, we are hoping for a resolution before the end of the year.”

For additional background on trends and immigration policy in the South African market, please see “South Africa’s language schools face declining enrolment due to immigration policy”  and “South Africa’s language schools gaining students but struggling to clarify immigration policy.”

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