ALEXANDRIA, Egypt — In 2012, Egypt's president issued an extraordinary decision giving Syrians access to public schooling in Egypt and facilitating registration. Under the new conditions, students were able to enroll using only their passports and a copy of their transcripts from Syria. The process, however, has presented numerous challenges.

Sami al-Ahmad is the founder of Khatwa, a group that helps displaced Syrian students finish their education in Egypt. He told Al-Monitor that although the decision to provide free education to Syrians in Egypt was renewed for 2013-15, some changes were made. “In 2014, post-graduate education was excluded from the decision, while some institutes and so-called open education were excluded in 2015,” said Ahmad, himself a Syrian refugee. "Open education" in Egypt refers to a program that grants students flexible schedules to take courses in the evening or on weekends.

In 2016, however, the Ministry of Education failed to issue an updated decision, so some colleges assumed free education for Syrians had been canceled. Now, Syrian students at those institutes or applying there are treated the same as other foreign students, Ahmad said.

According to the pricing schedules available on Egyptian university websites, fees for foreign students start at about $1,400 per year and must be paid in foreign currencies.