International Scholarships and Personal External Financing

How to win a scholarship to complete studies abroad for educational degree from one of the foreign universities?

 If the member seeks to win one of the scholarships offered to the State within the framework of the valid Executive Programs, he must look into the kind of scholarships distributed among the universities and Research Centers by the General Administration for Missions after the approval of the Executive Committee for Missions to assign those scholarships to the mentioned Sectors. The universities and the other sectors undertake to announce the scholarships, select and nominate candidates among their staff for the approval of the General Administration for Missions, and to take necessary procedures for the member's travel after receiving the acceptance of the domain.

If the member seeks to win a different type of scholarship from the ones offered through the Executive Programs, then we recommend that he should contact foreign universities in the country where he wishes to continue his studies, through direct correspondence, and should enclose his status, the degrees he has achieved and his research plan. Upon the foreign university's response, he will receive an acceptance, or both an acceptance and a scholarship. In this case, the Department of Personal Scholarships and Foreign Financing in the Administration of Missions or the Department of Foreign Scholarships outside the Executive Program (depending on which sector the scholarship has been presented to), will undertake the traveling procedures after the member has obtained  an educational leave from his work place.  In case the member is does not work in the government or the public sector, he will be directed to the Department of Supervision, which is concerned with unemployed members and students.

What is the necessity of completing the member's financial commitment in spite of the fact that the scholarship is with no financial liability on the Missions?

 The financial commitment includes the liabilities indicated in the Missions' law # 112 for year 1959, mainly the return to serve the member's Delegating Authority for a certain period of time specified in article # 31 of the law. In addition, the educational leave offered to the member in his home country is usually a paid leave. Also the said commitment guarantees the rights of the Delegating Authority to claim back the amounts that have been paid to the member during his educational leave abroad.

How are scholarships in a certain specialization allocated to one of the universities or any other sector in the State?

To answer this question, we could say that if the work place of the seeker is not one of those sectors targeted by the Administration of Missions, then the member will be asked to apply through his Sector to one of the Executive Programs to obtain a scholarship in the specializations designated by the Authority. The Missions will consider the request during the distribution of scholarships, that is, according to the recommendation of the Executive Committee to allocate a scholarship to the Sector upon its request.

Does the learner have the right to obtain one of the State's scholarships after receiving admission acceptance from a foreign university? 

The Administration has stated clearly that the scholarships conferred to Egypt according to the executive programs and protocols between the Ministries of Higher Education in both countries are not offered to individuals, but offered only to universities and research sectors after the approval of the Executive Committee for Missions of the distribution and allocation. In this case, the authorities should inform the General Administration for Missions with their nominations for the scholarships.  Accordingly, the students who has received admission acceptance from foreign universities without going through the allocation procedures for scholarships to their work places cannot benefit from the scholarships offered by the State according to the executive program. 

What are the required documents to be presented to the Administration of Missions from the members who received educational scholarships or admission acceptance from any foreign authority?

·   Each of the divisions under the Administration of Delegation on Scholarships is concerned with special documents that serve the type of delegation according to the member's mission, but they all require the following documents:

·   Admission acceptance letter from the foreign university, or any other authority, which includes the studying duration, admission date and goals.

·   The letter from the Granting Authority clarifying financial rights offered, like monthly salary, bearing tuition fees, medical insurance coverings, accommodation cost, living cost and traveling expenses.

·   A completed and certified application form.

·   The Medical check up results marking that the member is fit for traveling abroad.

·   A copy of the member's military service position certified (for male students).

·   Security office approval for traveling.

·   Completing the required financial commitments by the member and his guarantor at the General Administration for Missions. Certain divisions, like the Personal and Foreign Financing Division, require from the member to present evidence of his bank account, or of the presence of a guarantor who undertakes to cover the member's educational costs. The bank account should be equivalent to 75 % of the member's monthly salary abroad, or complementary to the value of the scholarship, in order to secure the well being of the member in the hosting country.

Some of the members, specially those who received Personal or Foreign Grants outside the Executive Programs, enquire about possibility of traveling abroad before completing the required documents due to the difficulty of completing the required documents prior to traveling to match admission dates fixed by the foreign authorities?      

The member is allowed to complete the required papers and documents after traveling abroad to avoid any default in his admission. This should be done in the light of the general principle regarding the allowed period for presenting requests to confirm the educational leave of the members on Personal and Foreign financing, or those on jointly financed scholarships. In its meeting on Nov. 23, 1993, the Executive Committee for Missions confirmed this general principal, mainly, that the member's request for an educational leave will not be considered by the Executive Committee for Missions unless the required documents for this leave are completed prior to his departure. However, the Committee may consider accepting the request for an educational leave after the departure of the member if he presents convincing excuses for the delay. The members delegated for a Doctorate degree must complete the documents during the first year after their admission, and those delegated for a master degree, or for collecting scientific material, or for training during six months after their travel.

As to the grants offered to the State within the executive framework, it is not required to present to the Executive Committee for Missions a request for accepting educational leave. The members should undertake the traveling procedures after completing the required documents, specially the approval of the Security Office, since they are entitled to obtain their financial dues and traveling tickets from the General Administration for Missions prior their departure.

Why resort to the Missions in spite of the fact that the grant is sponsored by a foreign authority, and is actually without any financial obligations on the part of the Missions?

In one of its articles, the Missions' law indicates that the Executive Committee for Missions is concerned with approving educational leaves issued by any sector in the State.  Moreover, upon equating the educational degrees obtained by the members abroad with their Egyptian counterparts, the Highest Board of Faculties requires evidence that the member has been subjected to scientific supervision of the Missions, and this evidence is obtained by the member from the Missions after his return to his home country. Afterwards, the Board undertakes the procedures for each certificate separately.

What are the financial dues required from the member if his educational leave is transferred to the Mission’s account, and what are the conditions for transferring the leave?

·   Half of a monthly salary for un-married members, to cover the cost of publishing the PhD thesis (last edition) or the equivalent amount without presenting documents.

·   Final return ticket for the member or his family (his wife and two of his children) if the granting authority does not undertake to pay the costs of these tickets.

·   The members of both Personal Scholarships and Missions are treated equally concerning salary, housing allowance, medical insurance and educational cost, that is in the case the grant has been withheld due to unforeseen reasons (for the duration of two years or until the date of the dissertation)the conditions of this transference are as follows:

 -   The member should be an assistant or assistant professor in one of the Egyptian universities or research centers.

-   The scholarship should be offered to the member on the basis of completing the Doctorate degree.

-   The member must have gained the benefit of the Personal Scholarship for at least 2 years.

-   The member's academic reports should confirm his academic progress and punctuality in achieving the scientific program which will lead to completing the degree, and the Mission's budget will not bare any additional costs.