“Egyptian children bullied the Syrian students, which is what led to us to go to a community school,” said the mother of Ghaith, a Syrian refugee child.

Other Syrian families complained of overcrowding (up to 70 pupils in a classroom according to one school director), high tuition fees and cultural clashes like understanding Egyptian dialect and customs – all of these factors have made adjusting to life in Egypt even harder for Syrian refugee families.

“Egyptian children bullied the Syrian students, which is what led to us to go to a community school,” said the mother of Ghaith, a Syrian refugee child.

Other Syrian families complained of overcrowding (up to 70 pupils in a classroom according to one school director), high tuition fees and cultural clashes like understanding Egyptian dialect and customs – all of these factors have made adjusting to life in Egypt even harder for Syrian refugee families.

Many Syrians filed complaints with the Egyptian Ministry of Education (MoE) regarding the conditions of schools and a group of civil society organizations working in refugee relief intervened. The MoE then granted licenses to open educational centers under certain conditions agreed by a committee comprised of government officials in different educational departments.  The result was ‘non governmental community schools’, of which there are now 18 in 6^th of October City, a suburb of Cairo currently witnessing the highest density of Syrian refugees in Cairo.

“Community schools play the same role as that of public schools,” says Hussam Joupi, principal of the Syrian Civilization Builders, founded in 6^th of October City last year.  “Except they do not offer mid-term and final exams.”

The number of Syrian students in any community school class does not exceed 20 and there are teachers who speak Syrian dialect to help bridge the cultural gap, according to Joupi. The school management staff, however, is made up of Syrians.

“Community schools provide a good education with affordable tuition, compared to the other Egyptian schools that offer the same educational level but without paying attention to the students,” says another Syrian mother. “The community school also hires teachers who can speak in Syrian dialect, which also plays a role in improving the students’ psychological state.”

Keeping up standards

A major difficulty facing community schools is licensing –the process takes three to four months. The owner must be Egyptian, then Syrians may rent the school as long as certain specifications like ventilation and space are met.

Joupi argues that previously, anyone was able to establish a school for Syrians without any procedures or licenses as long as there was a space, regardless of the school’s area and equipment. However, owners of some of these schools intervened in Egyptian political affairs at the end of former President Mohamed Morsi’s rule in mid-2013 when they mobilized Syrians for the protests staged directly following the Rabia events. In response, the Egyptian state closed most of the schools on the pretext that they had no license.

Tuition for Syrian students range between L.E. 3,000-7,000 (around $ 300-700) depending on the community school and the grade, in addition to nominal fees for books and uniforms. Means of transport are available.

“Syrian students unable to pay the expenses, (e.g. those with deceased or detained breadwinners) are exempted from fees,” says Joupi.

Joupi says community schools have reduced the burden on both students who used to suffer from overcrowding in public classrooms and on teachers who already deal with large numbers of students.