The Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education responds to the controversy of preventing Syrian students from taking exams.

A controversy has arisen in Syrian and Egyptian circles in recent days regarding reports of some Syrian students being prevented from taking their exams at Egyptian universities, while official sources in Egypt have denied any arbitrary measures against Syrian students.

According to "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" newspaper, a responsible source in the Egyptian government confirmed that "authorities have not issued any decision to prevent Syrian students from taking their exams," explaining that the issue is limited to "students who have not completed residency permits and security approvals, especially those residing outside Egypt."

On the other hand, members of the Syrian community pointed out the suffering of some students due to "delays in security approvals," which prevented them from taking exams despite paying tuition fees, according to complaints spread on social media platforms.

In a related context, the Syrian Foreign Minister, Asaad Al-Shaaban, directed the follow-up of the affected students' file, as student sources reported an "upcoming meeting to discuss their situation," confirming that the Syrian Foreign Ministry is working on "resolving issues related to students abroad."

The Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education stated that there are "regulations for educating foreigners" including obtaining security approvals and valid residency, indicating that "admission is at the beginning of the academic year, not at its end," and that those deprived of exams are "those who have not completed procedures or returned to Syria without updating their legal status."

According to official data, Egypt hosts around 125,000 foreign students from 118 countries, including thousands of Syrians registered on the "Study in Egypt" platform.

Rasem Al-Attasi, the former president of the Syrian Community Association in Egypt, mentioned that "some Syrian students were denied entry to exams for not obtaining security approvals," but he added that the number "does not exceed 10 students" compared to the large number of Syrian students.

He pointed out that some of these students "reside outside Egypt and were unable to return due to delays in entry permits," despite being previously exempted from the decision to ban Syrians, as confirmed by the Egyptian Ambassador in Damascus earlier this year.