I recently wrote a post about Egyptian youth needing to dream a lot farther ahead here. This is the first of many of my dreams I'd like to see before 2050.
Egypt has an exploding population. We have an approximate population density of 76/sq.km but our real density is around 2700/sq.km. There is an obvious need to build new cities but most new cities need a purpose. I would love to see a few university towns like Lund, Sweden, Kingston,Ontario and Carbondale,Illinois.
For a long time the only university in Egypt that wasn't government owned was the AUC. Then in the mid-nighties we started to get private universities. Most of the new universities are privately owned and are run for profit. And that is why we have had to define a third type of university which is a civil university. A civil university is essentially a private university that is also not for profit. It is also not owned by an individual or individuals unlike regular private Egyptian universities.
The problem with college education in Egypt is that the government was the only provider. As the population boomed they reacted by accepting more and more students and building larger lecture halls. The government stopped building new universities and didn't increase its spending to match the growing student population. Eventually the actual quality of education just jumped off a cliff. Private universities are mostly seen as providing a lower standard of education. The students enter with lower grades and many think they are paying for the certificate not the education. But private universities do have the advantage of having a lower student to faculty ratio.
Civil universities can solve a lot of our current problems. The government can help with building these universities too. Government universities don't have budgets separate from the national education budget. Civil universities on the other hand are separate entities. They need to depend on grants, tuition and donations. This makes them driven to maintain both a high level of education and research. The government can help fund these universities while they establish themselves and build up endowments. After that they can be financially independent and no longer a burden to the national budget.
So back to the main point; university towns. Firstly we do need universities. We also need new cities. If we can build universities that provide a high enough quality of education then students will come. I would say two or three universities per city would be ideal. The idea would be to have multiple universities that would compete with and complement each other.
I dream of these towns to be in remote locations: the western desert, the north coast, northern Sinai, southern Sinai, the Red Sea and more. I wish more students would leave home to go to college. It would definitely speed up the process of growing up. The culture in cities where the majority is tied to a university would be quite interesting. With the majority of the population always exploring new ideas and concepts; these cities can become hotbeds for startups and a driver for the greater economy.
Egypt has an exploding population. We have an approximate population density of 76/sq.km but our real density is around 2700/sq.km. There is an obvious need to build new cities but most new cities need a purpose. I would love to see a few university towns like Lund, Sweden, Kingston,Ontario and Carbondale,Illinois.
For a long time the only university in Egypt that wasn't government owned was the AUC. Then in the mid-nighties we started to get private universities. Most of the new universities are privately owned and are run for profit. And that is why we have had to define a third type of university which is a civil university. A civil university is essentially a private university that is also not for profit. It is also not owned by an individual or individuals unlike regular private Egyptian universities.
The problem with college education in Egypt is that the government was the only provider. As the population boomed they reacted by accepting more and more students and building larger lecture halls. The government stopped building new universities and didn't increase its spending to match the growing student population. Eventually the actual quality of education just jumped off a cliff. Private universities are mostly seen as providing a lower standard of education. The students enter with lower grades and many think they are paying for the certificate not the education. But private universities do have the advantage of having a lower student to faculty ratio.
Civil universities can solve a lot of our current problems. The government can help with building these universities too. Government universities don't have budgets separate from the national education budget. Civil universities on the other hand are separate entities. They need to depend on grants, tuition and donations. This makes them driven to maintain both a high level of education and research. The government can help fund these universities while they establish themselves and build up endowments. After that they can be financially independent and no longer a burden to the national budget.
So back to the main point; university towns. Firstly we do need universities. We also need new cities. If we can build universities that provide a high enough quality of education then students will come. I would say two or three universities per city would be ideal. The idea would be to have multiple universities that would compete with and complement each other.
I dream of these towns to be in remote locations: the western desert, the north coast, northern Sinai, southern Sinai, the Red Sea and more. I wish more students would leave home to go to college. It would definitely speed up the process of growing up. The culture in cities where the majority is tied to a university would be quite interesting. With the majority of the population always exploring new ideas and concepts; these cities can become hotbeds for startups and a driver for the greater economy.
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