How German offices reacted to the students plea for help

Germany contributed €5 million to the development of GUC. In 2003, then German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and then Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak celebrated the opening of the university. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) - which supports members of student unions in Egypt since years -, the German Embassy and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research support the university. The universities in Ulm and Stuttgart are academic partners for GUC, and their presidents sit on the supervisory board of the university.

Students asked for support in German offices

The students have also asked for support for their issues in German offices. They reportedly were given only one piece of advice at the Cairo office of the DAAD: “Apologize to the university and the president.”

The students at the German University in Cairo have been disappointed by the “German, academic, democratic culture” that was promised to them in GUC advertisements.

The DAAD disagrees, saying that the students at the GUC did not turn to the colleagues at the DAAD office in Cairo on this issue. When asked for comment, the DAAD said it issued no advice.

A source in the diplomatic community said: “In discussions with the student representatives and the university administration, the German Embassy in Cairo promoted a solution that would protect the rights of all parties.”

DAAD "regrets" the incidents

DAAD President Margret Wintermantel “regrets” the incidents at GUC. She said the DAAD is “not indifferent to the students’ situation, even if we are not involved at all in the current conflict.” In general, the DAAD would make sure in international partnerships “that the students and other member organizations, take part in decision-making processes.” Ms. Wintermantel also said that the GUC is de jure a private Egyptian university and is largely sustained by the fees and Egyptian investments.

Neither representatives from the GUC in Egypt nor representatives from its partner universities would comment. The university in Ulm instead sent a link to the dossier from the GUC administration.

One students says: "They treat us like dirt"

In Cairo, meanwhile, the dangerous bus parking location in front of the university, where buses are often involved in accidents, has been renovated. But the students are still not happy. “There continues to be the danger that we will die there,” said Nadine Kassab. The economics student asks how it can be that so much has to be paid to a university that scrimps on safety for its students. “They treat us like dirt,” she said.

Ms. Kassab got off lightly during the expulsions because she already had received the assurance of a university spot in Munich. She is voluntarily turning her back on studies at GUC, but wants to continue being engaged for the sake of her fellow students.

This article first appeared in German in Der Tagesspiegel. Internal links are also only in German.