Mansoura University President Participates in the Workshop “Mechanisms for Implementing the Foundation Year”

Prof. Cherif Youssef Khater, President of Mansoura University, participated in the activities of the workshop organized by the Supreme Council of Universities to review ideas and visions on implementing the foundation year for enrollment in private and national universities, headed by Prof. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and attended by Prof. Ashraf Hanigal, President of Suez University, and the presidents of public, private, and national universities, secretaries of councils, and a group of ministry leaders.

According to the media statement issued by the Ministry of Higher Education, Prof. Ayman Ashour welcomed the university presidents, stressing the importance of holding the workshop to exchange ideas and visions on the mechanisms for implementing the foundation year for enrollment in private and national universities.

The Minister pointed out that the foundation year system is available in many universities at the international level, explaining that the foundation year adds skills and competencies to the student that prepare him for university study, and reduces the knowledge gap between the outcomes of general education and what the student is expected to perform at the university stage; with the aim of improving the university’s outputs of qualified staff for the labor market.

Prof. Ayman Ashour said that the foundation year aims to enhance success in university studies and language skills, develop personal skills, build self-confidence, and quickly adapt to university life. He added that the foundation year will contribute to improving the quality of education by raising the level of curricula according to international standards, and qualifying students before they join the university, by providing them with various skills, experiences and competencies, stressing the importance of enhancing education using technological means to facilitate learning and make it more attractive to students.

Prof. Mustafa Refaat, Secretary of the Supreme Council of Universities, said that the foundation year system achieves many goals, including providing new opportunities for students; which encourages to join appropriate specializations after qualification, and reducing student alienation by providing an academic alternative that enables them to bridge the knowledge gap locally instead of searching for study opportunities abroad. He added that the foundation year supports incoming students, provides them with the opportunity to acquire more study skills, develop their skills, and give them a vital opportunity to improve their communication skills, improve their grades, and support academic decision-making by providing a preparatory path that helps students ensure that they have chosen the academic specialization that suits them. He also presented a comparison between the different systems for implementing the foundation year at the regional and international levels; to achieve the maximum possible benefit from these systems.

It is worth noting that the Council of Ministers had approved a draft law amending some provisions of the Private and National Universities Law issued by Law No. 12 of 2009. The amendment stipulated that Article No. (19 bis) be added to the aforementioned law, stipulating that private and national universities may accept students who have obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent, starting from the academic year 2024/2025, and who have not obtained the minimum qualification for admission to the faculty they wish to join in private and national universities, provided that they have passed a qualifying stage called the foundation year according to their scientific qualification to study in that faculty, all in accordance with the controls, rules and conditions, which are issued by a decision of the Minister of Higher Education, and are set by the Supreme Council of Universities after taking the opinion of the Council of Private Universities or the Council of National Universities - as the case may be - all without prejudice to a number of controls regulating this matter.