Universities ‘save’ students’ amid Trump’s aid pause

Egyptian students funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) who are currently studying at public and private universities will be financially supported by their universities following the United States President Donald Trump’s decision to pause all foreign development aid for about three months.

However, some categories of students supported by aid, such as Bridge Year students (for students preparing for their first year through English and study skills education) and the Spring 2025 newcomers (who will start their academic studies in September), were left without financial support for the rest of the academic year.

The enforcement of an immediate 90-day pause on US developmental financing, issued on 20 January, will affect 1,077 higher education students in Egypt who received scholarships from USAID for the 2024-25 academic year at 10 public and private universities – 200 of them from the American University in Cairo (AUC).

The USAID Scholars initiative implemented by AUC offers a range of four- or five-year scholarships for undergraduates.

Other participating Egyptian higher education institutions include the following universities: Cairo, Ain Shams, Alexandria, Assiut, Mansoura, Al Alamein International, and Badr in Cairo as well as the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport.

The USAID scholarship programme aims to support economic, social and environmental development plans in Egypt by focusing on university studies in the fields of water, energy, agriculture and nursing.

From 2020 to 2024, 788 students have benefited from the scholarships at various levels of study, and 84 have graduated.

The ministry’s response

Egypt’s Higher Education and Scientific Research Ministry announced on 29 January that the universities will step in to cover all the allocations and tuition fees that the US agency awarded to the students until the end of the second semester, and the ministry and the universities will remain committed to supporting these students to face any future challenges.

Universities act swiftly

Ain Shams University, one of those included in the paused USAID programme, issued a statement at the end of January announcing that all tuition fees for scholarship students would be covered by the university, “provided they adhere to academic standards and discipline”.

“The university will work to provide all the necessary facilities for students, including providing academic support and accommodation in university cities at the same level they are accustomed to,” Mohamed Diaa Zain El-Abedeen, the president of Ain Shams University, said.

In a 2 February message sent to the university community and students affected by the USAID freezing its scholarships, AUC President Ahmad Dallal said: “There are also 113 grant-sponsored staff members who administer the suspended scholarship programmes at AUC and other universities.

“Their positions have also been suspended. To help them during this transition, the university will cover their basic salary for three months as they seek alternative roles at AUC or elsewhere.”

“Within 48 hours [after the scholarship funding was suspended], we informed our students (200) – some only in their first semester at AUC, others in their last, and everything in between – that we would cover their tuition, housing and educational expenses for Spring 2025.

“We will offset the cost for the spring semester through budget savings and fundraising because of our deep commitment to the education and well-being of our students.

“Another roughly 125 students had dreams of joining the university. Some were accepted to start this semester. Others were part of an English-language bridge programme that supports outstanding students with a year of intensive English training to allow them to pass the English required for their academic programme at AUC.

“We understand the painful situation these students now face and wish we could accommodate them. We simply do not have the financial resources,” Dallal said.

In response, students launched the hashtag, #Uncertain_Future_for_AUC_Students, calling for a solution.

Emergency fund

Dallal added: “Throughout the past week, the number of individuals – previous scholarship recipients, alumni, faculty, staff and friends of AUC – who have expressed an interest in contributing funds to support new and continuing students has been inspirational. We’ve created this online web page, the Emergency Student Assistance Fund, for anyone who wishes to make a gift of any size.”

On the other hand, the AUC Student Union Representation Committee issued a statement on 1 February saying: “The Student Union, alongside the Office of Advancement, are actively seeking external funding opportunities. While the situation remains complex, we are committed to exploring sustainable solutions and will continue our efforts to secure financial support for these students for the entirety of their four or five years at AUC.

“Moreover, please share the crowdfunding application we recently launched to support affected students,” the student union said.

US aid to HE

Dr Lee Rensimer, the deputy director, Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE) in the United Kingdom, told University World News: “Based on CGHE-funded research on US aid flows, the largest recipient in Africa of US higher education aid by a mile is Egypt, receiving 48% of all US higher education aid to Africa.

“This is followed in relatively smaller terms by Liberia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Senegal and Rwanda (between US$1.2 and two million a year),” Rensimer added.

“So Egypt stands to experience the biggest disruption where US aid is discontinued, as a recipient of on average of US$13.3 million a year from the US for higher education,” Rensimer noted.

“In Egypt, a substantial piece of the higher education aid portfolio is for local scholarships (US$5.5 million to private universities, US$4.5 million to public universities),” he pointed out.

“The US approach has also long supported Egypt’s scientific research collaborations and centres of excellence in energy, agriculture and water (totalling about US$5 million a year) as a hallmark of the US’s aid strategy in higher education,” Rensimer said.

According to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Creditor Reporting System data, the US is the fourth-largest bilateral donor to higher education (on the basis of an average of 2011-21 figures), behind Germany, France and Japan. This averages roughly US$200 million a year in development assistance specifically earmarked for higher education purposes.

For Africa specifically, the US is again the fourth-largest bilateral donor to higher education averaging US$35 million a year, or 18% of the US global higher education aid portfolio. In terms of all donors (bi-, multilateral and private), it is the sixth-largest donor to higher education in Africa topped by France, Germany, the World Bank, the Mastercard Foundation, and Japan, according to CGHE research.

A list of countries receiving foreign aid (including higher education), showed that Egypt is fourth on the list of all countries receiving aid from the US. The first three are Ukraine, Israel and Jordan.

Broad educational impact

In addition to university students, there are also civil society organisations and social programmes funded by the US that are at risk, including six foundational education programmes with beneficiaries that include teacher excellence initiatives and a Teach-for-Tomorrow project.

The USAID Egyptian Pioneers website stated: “Please be informed that, effective 24 January all activities under USAID Egyptian Pioneers are suspended. Unfortunately, as part of compliance with recent directives issued by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), activities under our current agreements are suspended for 90 days.”

USAID Egyptian Pioneers is a scholarship programme funded by USAID and implemented by AUC in collaboration with the higher education ministry.

The programme aims to build a more inclusive and capable workforce that elevates sectors critical to Egypt’s economic growth through providing scholarships to professionals working in government institutions.

These capacity-building opportunities and scholarships are offered to those who are interested in pursuing masters degrees, postdoctoral studies, and short-term training opportunities in Egypt or the US.