CAIRO (Middle East) – Academics in Egypt have been left scratching their heads after a decision by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to grant civilian scientific degrees to students of military colleges.
The July announcement, largely overlooked by local media, has caused anger inside academic circles, as some say it trespasses on the sanctity of academia.
“This decision violates the constitution,” Mustafa Kamel al-Sayed, a political science professor at Cairo University, told Middle East Eye.
“Constitutionally speaking, the minister of defense does not have the right to offer civilian college degrees.”
Under the new measure, the minister of defense will be able to grant civilian degrees to graduates of different military colleges.
For example, military and naval college students will have the right to obtain a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science, while those of the air force academy will be able to obtain a degree in business administration and airport management.
Under Sisi’s rule, the government has been offering special perks to the men in uniform, ranging from flats and cars at reduced prices, to medical treatment at special hospitals, to beaches that are no-go areas for the general public.
But the new decision risks undermining university degrees, some academics fear.
University admission in Egypt is conditioned on scoring high in the last year of secondary school, with departments such as medicine, engineering, economics and political science often reserved for students with the highest marks.
Admission into army-affiliated colleges, however, does not require high secondary school scores, meaning that pupils with a final year mark of 50 percent or 60 percent can join these colleges, provided that they are physically and psychologically fit.
The same applies to the police academy, which qualifies secondary school graduates to become police officers.
The move has also left some unanswered questions about who will have the final say on granting these degrees.
Normally, the Supreme Universities’ Council, a body affiliated with the Ministry of Higher Education, approves the scientific degrees offered to the graduates of civilian universities.
The council also regulates the work of the nation’s universities and higher education institutes.
Sisi’s latest decision does not specify whether the defense ministry will coordinate offering civilian degrees to military college students with the council.