In late August 2026, objections by students of the Science and Technology Schools for Outstanding Students (STEM) and their families escalated over the university admission rules for the 2026/2027 academic year, particularly the combination of the “flexible percentage” and geographical distribution after the previous exemption from it was cancelled. Although the coordination results were announced on 30 August and many of the families who spoke to Zawia3 were satisfied with the results, demands for stable rules announced in advance remained. The experience of these schools dates back to 2011, with support from the United States Agency for International Development, before expanding to about 21 schools, according to the figures in the statements that addressed the crisis.
The flexible percentage allocates seats to STEM students in a number of faculties in proportion to the nature of their education system, and covers, for students of the science (sciences) track, human medicine, dentistry, physiotherapy, pharmacy, veterinary medicine and science, in addition to engineering-sector faculties for students of the relevant tracks. The percentage is calculated according to the numbers of applicants and available places, with at least one seat allocated to these students in the faculty concerned and fractions rounded up to the next whole number.
As registration of coordination preferences began, STEM students and their parents sent an urgent appeal to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, demanding that they be exempted from the geographical distribution rules in university admission coordination, explaining that about 1,900 male and female STEM students, among them students with totals of 97%, 98% and 99%, were surprised two days before coordination began by the application of the geographical distribution rules to them, despite the issuance of a ministerial decision on 13 July exempting them from these rules, according to the statement.
According to the statement, the students spent their years of study in an education system based on scientific research and projects, and the nature of their studies and the unified national certificate of the STEM system require that they be treated according to admission rules suited to the nature of this educational track, but the sudden change in coordination rules, which coincided with the opening of preference registration on 24 August, threatens the chances of hundreds of students to enrol in the specialised faculties that suit their study track and represents a breach of the principle of equal opportunity on which the system of schools for outstanding students was founded.
The students and parents object to the application of geographical distribution, considering that it restricts students’ chances of enrolling in faculties appropriate to the grade totals they obtained, despite their having studied under a boarding system and lived away from their families during the secondary stage. They also appealed to the president to intervene to reinstate the previous ministerial decision and cancel geographical distribution for their cohort, in a way that guarantees the preservation of students’ rights and takes into account the nature of the STEM system and the effort they made during their years of study, and by protecting its students’ path and supporting the state’s orientation towards excellence and scientific research.
Three years of research, then coordination anxiety
Marwa Khalil, the mother of a student at the Science and Technology Schools for Outstanding Students (STEM), recounts that parents enrolled their children in the system in the belief that it would provide an education suited to their excellence and abilities, but they were surprised by university coordination rules that do not reflect the nature of the study and the effort the students made during their years of study, as she puts it.
She explains that the students were selected after passing aptitude and intelligence tests and represent a segment of the outstanding students nationwide, pointing out that the students spent three years in intensive study based on scientific research and projects, in addition to living away from their families in the case of a large number of them; they lived in residential compounds and shared rooms with their classmates, in conditions different from the lifestyle they were used to, in exchange for obtaining a specialised and different education.
She tells Zawia3: “Studying in STEM is not limited to traditional curricula, as students carry out scientific projects that are assessed at the end of each semester by university professors and lecturers, in addition to preparing scientific research that requires research and thinking skills, and the nature of this study makes it illogical to treat students as being of a lower rank when applying to universities.”
She criticises the difference between the chances of Thanaweya Amma students and STEM students in admission to faculties, saying that a Thanaweya Amma student can, according to the coordination rules, enrol in a faculty of engineering with a total starting from about 88%, while a STEM student who obtained 99% may find it difficult to enrol in any public engineering faculty, considering that this makes the outstanding student pay the price of the coordination system. This comparison presents the parent’s concerns and does not represent an official equivalence between the grades of two systems in which the curricula and the assessment method differ.
She points out that the coordination crisis did not stop at the admission rules, as STEM students were surprised by the postponement of their coordination to the third stage, at a time when Thanaweya Amma students had already begun to learn their faculties and prepare for the academic year, considering that this delay may lead some students to lose opportunities for scholarships, university dormitories, reducing distance from home or study places for which they were eligible.
She demands that the admission rules reflect the nature of the educational track the students went through, and that the outstanding among them obtain fair opportunities at public, national and private universities and scholarships, according to their excellence and not on the basis of financial ability or eligibility linked to social support programmes, in addition to providing scholarships for students who were unable to enrol in public faculties of medicine or engineering, provided that these scholarships come without impossible conditions, as well as approving students’ requests to reduce distance from home.
According to the parents’ statements, the 2026 cohort included about 1,900 male and female students. Parents also circulate a figure of nearly 30,000 applicants for the schools’ admission tests in recent years; but it relates to applying for the secondary stage, and its source does not specify a single cohort matching the graduating cohort, and therefore the two figures cannot be used to calculate a unified admission rate.
Pressures of study, boarding and healthcare
The Science and Technology Schools for Outstanding Students (STEM) in Egypt have for years faced a set of challenges ranging from academic and psychological pressures and problems with services and boarding, to university coordination crises that intensified during the 2025–2026 academic year.
Complaints from students and parents covered in reports on these schools indicate that students sit about 12 tests and assessments per semester, rising to 14 in the third year of secondary school, in addition to graduation projects and practical assessments, which imposes heavy academic and psychological burdens, especially on students living away from their families. Students’ complaints also recur about weak and interrupted internet, the low standard of some meals, problems with water, sewage and cleanliness, stray animals entering some schools, and poor healthcare.
The death of Adham Atef Mohamed, a student at the Beni Suef STEM School, in December 2025, raised concerns about the healthcare provided to students. The incident was referred to the prosecution, the school’s headmistress was removed from her post, and a committee was formed to examine the circumstances, while health reports were quoted as saying that the death was linked to pneumonia and its complications. The Ministry of Education issued a statement on the course of the student’s treatment, as opposed to complaints from students and families about care inside the school. As for the “Schools for Outstanding and Gifted Students” unit, its creation was stipulated by Ministerial Decision No. 303 announced on 27 November 2025, that is, before the death, and it is not correct to consider its creation a measure taken in response to this incident.
The burdens of living away from home are increasing because of the difficulty of transferring to schools closer to students’ places of residence, while the university coordination crisis emerged in 2026, with the limited seats allocated to STEM students in some faculties and the cancellation of the previous exemption from geographical distribution, in addition to complaints about the vagueness of the calculation of the cumulative average and the chances of admission to private and national universities.
In the same context, Ziad Ezz, the parent of a female student at the Science and Technology Schools for Outstanding Students, believes that the current coordination system does not achieve justice for the students of these schools, despite the different nature of the study and the effort they make throughout their years of study, considering that a student who obtains 96% in STEM finds himself facing limited chances of enrolling in the faculties he wants, while a Thanaweya Amma student with 94% can enrol in a faculty of medicine.
He points out that the state provides STEM students with an integrated educational system that includes accommodation, subsistence, food and drink, in addition to teaching by university professors and carrying out projects and scientific research, adding that students used to go to universities to conduct their research and projects, which formed part of their academic grades.
He tells Zawia3: ” STEM students also face study pressures and more difficult exams, and their exam period extends from May until the end of July because two exam attempts are offered,” questioning the point of the STEM system if a student, after three years of intensive study and work on projects and research, does not obtain a real advantage when entering university.
He adds that this does not mean generalising or accusing all Thanaweya Amma students of cheating, but he believes that the coordination rules place STEM students in an unequal position, as a student who obtains 94% in Thanaweya Amma can compete for top-tier faculties, while a student who obtains 96% in STEM may have his chances limited to faculties such as computers and information, artificial intelligence and veterinary medicine.
He believes that students who obtained pass rates of 96% or less were treated unjustly in coordination compared with their peers who obtained Thanaweya Amma, explaining that the difference appears more clearly when comparing the geographical distribution rules, as about 1,500 of the top Thanaweya Amma students nationwide were exempted from the geographical distribution rules, while about 1,900 students in STEM schools are subject to these rules.
The parent does not object to Thanaweya Amma students obtaining their rights, but he demands a coordination system that takes into account the nature of the STEM system and the different academic and scientific effort its students make, expressing his regret for enrolling his daughter in the STEM system instead of the traditional Thanaweya Amma.
Rules that change at the university gates
Meanwhile, Abdel Rahman Shaaban, the father of a female student at the Science and Technology Schools for Outstanding Students (STEM), stresses that STEM students bear academic burdens and effort exceeding what Thanaweya Amma students face, both in terms of studying and carrying out projects and research, in addition to a large number of them being forced to live away from their places of residence in order to study.
He explains that parents were surprised in August 2026 by the cancellation of the exemption from geographical distribution before students registered their preferences, considering that combining the setting of a flexible admission percentage with the application of geographical distribution doubles the pressure on students and affects them psychologically.
He tells Zawia3: “The main problem students face relates to the flexible percentage, which determines the numbers of students admitted from STEM schools to public faculties. This percentage allocated to them is extremely limited compared with the number of students; it determines the numbers of STEM students admitted to public faculties.”
He points out that the number of students in the 2026 cohort reached about 1,900, and the number of students in the 2027 cohort, to which his daughter belongs, is estimated at about 1,950, questioning the rules that will be applied to them upon graduation and university coordination for the 2027/2028 academic year. The figure for the next cohort remains an estimate given by the parent in his remarks.
He calls on the relevant authorities to announce the coordination and admission rules before students enrol in STEM schools, so that the student and his parent can make an informed decision about joining the system, stressing that changing the rules after students have entered the schools has a negative impact on their psychological and educational future.
Parliamentary objections to the timing of the decision
The crisis of students of the schools for outstanding students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics provoked broad parliamentary solidarity, as MP Freddy El-Bayadi, a member of the House of Representatives, submitted a parliamentary question to the Prime Minister and the Ministers of Education and of Higher Education and Scientific Research regarding the sudden decision to apply the geographical distribution rules to students of “STEM” schools and to cancel the exceptions that had been granted to them in the previous coordination rules.
The MP explained that the decision affects about 1,900 male and female STEM students, who enrolled in these schools after passing tests and a rigorous selection of outstanding students, and spent years in an education system that is different, more specialised and more intensive than traditional secondary education, considering that changing fundamental rules in the coordination process just before it begins places the future of these students and their families in a state of uncertainty.
The MP asks about the reasons for the absence of planning and coordination between the Ministries of Education and Higher Education, stressing that students and their families should have been aware of these rules early on, not surprised by them when university coordination procedures begin, and criticising what he described as the contradiction between the state’s discourse on supporting outstanding students, innovation and scientific research, and treating STEM students, when they move to university, as ordinary Thanaweya Amma students, without regard for the nature of the different education system they joined.
El-Bayadi says that STEM students should not bear the consequences of what he described as confusion or a lack of coordination between ministries. He explains that the students’ demands are not about obtaining university seats without merit or enrolling in faculties without regard to their totals, but about guaranteeing fair competition based on their grades and abilities, without the place of residence preventing a student from enrolling in a faculty he deserves according to his total.
He adds: “The continued existence of exceptions from the geographical distribution rules for some of the top Thanaweya Amma students raises a question about the reasons for cancelling the exception granted to STEM school students, even though these schools were established primarily to look after outstanding students.”
He calls on the government to halt the application of the decision to this year’s students and return to the previous rules, until a genuine and transparent study of the coordination mechanisms for STEM students is carried out, calling for any future amendments to the coordination rules to be announced sufficiently in advance of their application, so that students and their families can prepare for them.
For his part, MP Diaa El-Din Dawoud submitted a parliamentary question to the government regarding the recent decisions on the coordination of STEM school students, pointing out that they and their families endured years of hardship during an educational journey dedicated to outstanding students, under a study system with its own particular nature and specific rules for university admission that had been stable in previous years, and that changing these rules requires urgent intervention to protect their future.
He says: “The most prominent problems lie in including STEM school certificates within a single administrative framework with equivalent Arab and foreign certificates and Nile schools. This classification leads to equating education systems that differ in nature.” By this objection he means the administrative grouping in the admission announcement, not that the curricula or grading system of these certificates are identical.
He explains that a STEM student is an Egyptian student studying within a specialised public education system that the state established and sponsored, and not the holder of a private foreign or international certificate, and therefore subjecting him to the same procedures as those for the equivalence of foreign and Arab certificates or to the “flexible percentage” rules is not, in his view, consistent with the nature of the national educational track he went through.
He adds: “The second problem relates to the cancellation of previous exceptions from the geographical distribution rules, and cancelling any previous exceptions amounts to disregarding the special nature of STEM schools, especially since during their secondary school years students were in many cases forced to leave their geographical area and board, or travel between governorates, in order to attend these schools.”
The MP believes that subsequently subjecting these students to geographical distribution according to place of residence returns them to the same geographical restrictions that were not imposed on them when choosing the school, instead of giving them the opportunity to benefit from the nature of their specialisation and to compete for the faculties and research centres that suit their study track.
He warns that combining geographical distribution with the “flexible percentage” may reduce students’ chances even further, explaining that allocating only one or two seats in some major faculties in each sector makes competition extremely intense, and that confining the student to a specific geographical area may prevent him from benefiting from seats available in other areas, considering that cancelling the exceptions that had been granted to STEM students represents a retreat from previous rules and ministerial decisions that had regulated their situation differently.
He stresses that changing the rules governing university admission at this stage raises the question of the stability of the legal status of students who began their educational path according to announced and stable rules, calling on the government to intervene swiftly and review the recent decisions in a way that preserves the rights of STEM school students and their university future.
Meanwhile, MP Dr Reda Abdel Salam considers that what happened represents a threat to the future of STEM schools, which include an elite of outstanding students in the fields of science and technology, explaining in a statement that the state established 21 schools for outstanding students in various governorates, with about 6,000 male and female students, and that this system, affiliated with the Ministry of Education, began operating in 2011.
He explains that students study curricula of a different nature from the traditional Thanaweya Amma curricula and are subject to a more intensive and specialised education system, in addition to their participation in projects and applied work, benefiting from the expertise of university professors, and being subject to strict assessment standards.
He questions the point of changing the rules governing the coordination of these students after years of applying a system of their own, describing STEM students as “Egypt’s finest minds” and the best qualified to contribute to leading the path of development, for whom the rules they had been subject to throughout their years of study were supposed to continue.
He says: “Students who enrolled in STEM schools according to announced and stable rules have acquired a stable legal status, and the rules governing their university path should not be changed suddenly after they began their studies in this system.”
He warns that the continuation of these policies may lead outstanding students to refrain from enrolling in STEM schools in the future, if students and their families become unsure of the nature of the advantages and rules governing the educational and university path from the start, which may threaten the continuation of these schools.
He calls for an urgent review of the new decisions in a way that guarantees the preservation of STEM students’ rights and takes into account the nature of the educational track they went through, stressing that this group deserves support and care as one of the segments of students best qualified to contribute to scientific research and development.
In response, Dr Ahmed El-Guyoushi, acting head of the Education Sector and supervisor of coordination, announced that students of the Science and Technology Schools for Outstanding Students “STEM” have their own coordination, and seats are allocated to them at a flexible percentage that differs from the percentages applied to other groups, in consideration of the nature of their study and specialisations, noting that they are entitled to apply for the Future Scientists Scholarship. In his remarks after the results were announced, El-Guyoushi said that geographical distribution regulates the order of preferences, that the response to the results was positive, and that students of the science track competed within specific sectors including medicine, dentistry, physiotherapy, pharmacy, veterinary medicine and science. This remains the ministry’s reading of the results, as opposed to the families’ demands for stable rules.
Limited seats and different standards
For his part, Dr Mohamed Abdel Aziz, an education expert and specialist in science curricula, believes that STEM school students and international certificate students faced a crisis because they were subjected to coordination rules that do not suit the nature of the curricula and educational standards under which they studied, and because the first stage of coordination began and ended before the results of some of these groups were announced, which leads to a limited number of seats being reserved for them at universities.
He explains that STEM students and international certificate students make a great effort studying more difficult courses, and therefore “they cannot be placed in a single coordination according to Thanaweya Amma standards”, stressing the need to set new standards and independent coordination for these groups, and pointing out that a student obtaining 90% cannot be compared with a Thanaweya Amma student obtaining the same percentage, because the level of study and exams is different.
He tells Zawia3: “The high cost of national universities represents an additional obstacle for students who cannot afford it, and some families were also unable to find places at private universities, so scholarships must be provided at private universities for outstanding students, to ensure that this scientific talent is not lost.”
The education expert calls for a return to the standards according to which the students studied, instead of treating percentages as a unified standard, stressing that students of these education systems study according to high standards, which makes them more capable of succeeding at the university stage.
Abdel Aziz considers that the delay in announcing the results should be dealt with by reorganising the coordination rules in a way that provides fair admission opportunities. He links the timing of international certificate exams to the educational bodies supervising them outside Egypt; as for the exams of Egyptian STEM schools, they are subject to the Ministry of Education, and their timing should not be attributed to international bodies or mixed up with the exams of foreign certificates.
He proposes striking a balance between Thanaweya Amma standards and the standards of international education, so that the equivalent percentage for each system is determined according to the level of study, instead of allocating a specific “quota” to students, considering that the quota system in this form is unfair.
Dr Mohamed Khalil, an education expert, agrees with him that the geographical distribution rules may treat students of the Science and Technology Schools for Outstanding Students (STEM) unjustly in some cases, especially when the numbers of students in some faculties are complete, stressing the need to take the nature of this group into account when setting coordination rules.
He stresses that STEM students need coordination rules that suit their excellence, considering that placing some of them in locations or faculties that do not suit their levels is a problem that should be addressed.
He tells Zawia3: “STEM students represent Egypt’s real economic investment, as they are among the top and outstanding students who could become scientists and engineers in the future, and many of them obtain scholarships outside Egypt, which calls for working to provide attractive educational and university opportunities for them inside the country and preserving this talent.”
He adds: “Priority should be given to outstanding students, and achieving equality among all students in calculating the grade totals required for enrolling in faculties, without taking into account the different levels of excellence and the nature of the educational tracks, leads to frustrating outstanding students.”
He calls for greater flexibility in the coordination rules and for giving STEM students, especially the outstanding among them, wider opportunities to enrol in faculties suited to their abilities and levels, stressing that preserving this group of students requires an admission system that takes their excellence into account instead of settling for the principle of equal distribution of opportunities among all educational tracks.
The results were announced, and the question of stable rules remained
Although the coordination results for students of the Science and Technology Schools for Outstanding Students (STEM) for the 2026/2027 academic year were announced on the electronic coordination website on 30 August, and were satisfactory to many students, the parents who spoke to Zawia3 are demanding clear and fixed rules governing these students’ transition to the university stage, in a way that takes into account the nature of the education system they went through and the level of excellence they achieved during their years of study.
They are also demanding the opening of early coordination for STEM students, with as many as possible of the available seats at public universities made available to them, in proportion to their excellence and the nature of their certificate, in addition to accepting requests to reduce distance from home on a par with the top Thanaweya Amma students, in consideration of the circumstances of students and their families and so as not to burden them with living away from home whenever suitable places are available.
They call on the Ministry of Higher Education to honour STEM students on a par with outstanding students nationwide, in recognition of the effort they made during their years of study, as well as to provide full scholarships for them at national and private universities, so that fees do not become an obstacle to outstanding students enrolling in the specialisations they want, and to include their data among the beneficiaries of the “Future Scientists Scholarship”.
Despite the breakthrough in the coordination crisis of STEM school students for the 2026/2027 academic year, students, parents and experts agree that the problem relates to the extent of the admission system’s ability to recognise the differences between educational tracks and to guarantee the stability of its rules.
While the Ministry of Higher Education affirms that there is special coordination for this group, parents demand announced and fixed rules that precede students’ enrolment in the schools and that ensure the excellence and effort required by the STEM experience do not turn into a new source of anxiety when moving to university.
The future of these schools remains tied to the extent of the state’s ability to turn support for outstanding students from a slogan into stable policies that protect their educational opportunities.
