The Minister of Higher Education chairs the meeting of the Supreme Council of Universities

The Supreme Council of Universities held its periodic meeting, headed by Prof. Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, in the presence of Dr. Mohamed Latif, Secretary General of the Council, and the members of the Council, in the grand hall of Celebrations at Cairo University.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Council thanked Cairo University, headed by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Othman Al-Khasht; For hosting the meeting of the Supreme Council of Universities.

The Council congratulated Dr. Hassan Al-Demerdash on the issuance of the Republican decision appointing him as president of the University of El-Arish, wishing him success.

The Council took a minute of silence for the spirit of Prof. Dr. Khaled Abdul-Bari, the former president of Zagazig University, asking God to bestow mercy and forgiveness on him.

Prof. Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, thanked the heads of universities, deans of faculties and institutes, members of the teaching staff, the assisting body, the administrative apparatus, and all employees of universities and institutes, for their presence among students during the postponed exams for the first semester, and for their commitment to apply all precautionary measures during the holding of exams, as directed. The Minister thanked the students for their great awareness and their lack of adherence to spreading rumors and false news that aimed to create confusion and confuse students about the exams, as well as their commitment to following the precautionary measures and their contribution to the success of the first semester exams.

The Minister stressed the serious start of the second semester in universities and institutes, the commitment to implementing the hybrid education system, taking all precautionary measures, and the commitment to reduce the number of students in grades, classrooms and training laboratories, commitment to social distancing, and the absence of students of theoretical colleges on campus for more than two days a week, and college students The process is 3-4 days a week, according to the nature of study in different colleges and institutes.

The Council witnessed the signing of a cooperation protocol between the Supreme Council of Universities and the National Academy for Training, and the protocol stipulates joint cooperation between the two sides to organize training programs to develop the capacities of university leaders and faculty members, and cooperate with the capacity development centers in universities to develop training programs for faculty members, as well as providing the Council to the Academy with academics experts in different specializations for the training programs organized by the National Training Academy. The Minister of Higher Education thanked the National Training Academy for the successful implementation of the training program organized by the Academy for university leaders during the past week.

The council listened to Dr. Muhammad Ayman Ashour, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research for University Affairs, on developing inter-disciplinary programs in various scientific disciplines in colleges, in line with contemporary trends in international universities, and in response to the needs of the local, regional and international labor market.

The Council reviewed what has been accomplished in the project to prepare a database for public universities, to serve as a central data bank for the various projects, activities and achievements carried out by universities, as well as the statistics of the university community at the level of student preparation, their specializations, faculty members, and scientific studies in various specializations and all that is related to the information bank for universities.

The Council also reviewed the position of electronic test centers' equipment, connectivity lines, and the Internet in Egyptian universities, and stressed the completion of the rest of the required equipment according to the timetables prepared for this purpose, as part of the national project for information infrastructure for government universities, and the Council also reviewed the latest developments in the operational stages of new private universities.

The Council agreed to extend the work period of the committee formed to study the amendments submitted to the Universities Organization Law for an additional two months in principle, to give a full opportunity for an academic community dialogue for all members of the academic community to express their opinions and proposals on amending the Universities Organization Law.

The Council also agreed to take the necessary measures to announce the second part of the unified announcement of the scholarship plan for the fourth year 2020/2021 of the eighth five-year plan 2017/2022 in the competitive system, according to the funding from the fiscal year 2021/2022 budget.

The Council approved the decision of the Scholarships Executive Committee regarding the position of scholars dispatched to China, for their return to their sending destinations on a temporary basis, until conditions stabilize at their dispatch headquarters and their return again to complete their studies, and drop the period they spent in the homeland from the period of study leave, in light of the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic And in light of the state's directives for the return of Egyptians stranded abroad, out of concern for their safety.

The Council approved the decision of the Sadat City University Council to allocate 20 scholarships (10 Masters - 10 PhDs) to students of the Nile Basin countries, including exemption from all tuition fees, provided that accommodation and hospitality are in university cities, in the following specializations: (Genetic engineering and its fields Environmental sciences, water, energy and resource development, veterinary medicine, education and physical education, tourism and hotels).

The Council also agreed to stop the accreditation and equivalence of academic degrees issued by 5 universities in Kazakhstan, after the decision of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science in Kazakhstan to close the following universities (Shimkent University of Sociology and Innovation, Goldasikov Academy of Economics and Law of the city of Taldikurgan, Tennishbayev Academy of Transport and Communications in the city of Almati, and Kotbekov University For friendship between peoples, and the Kazakh Medical University of Continuing Education).

In this context and in implementation of the political leadership's mandates to limit the phenomenon of Egyptian students traveling to study in non-accredited foreign universities, due to the difficulty of their enrollment in Egyptian universities, the Council approved the continuation of the work of the committee charged with studying the various alternatives that limit this phenomenon, including the approval of the Equations Committee of the Supreme Council of Universities For the list of recognized universities, setting controls and conditions for the equivalence of foreign certificates according to the evaluation of the scientific content, as well as studying all other operational alternatives that contribute to reducing this phenomenon, and presenting the results of the committee's work to the Council in its next meetings.