His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Prof. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, received today, Thursday, at Al-Azhar’s headquarters, Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education to discuss ways to enhance cooperation and achieve integration between Al-Azhar University and the Ministry of Higher Education.

The Grand Imam said that the educational curriculum at Al-Azhar is a dual curriculum, as students study the Arabic language and Sharia sciences alongside the curriculum studied by national education students. This makes Al-Azhar graduates, doctors, engineers, pharmacists, etc. distinguished because they have combined knowledge of religious sciences and scientific specializations.

His Eminence pointed out that Al-Azhar is the destination of many Muslims around the world as more than 60,000 students from more than 130 countries study at Al-Azhar. He noted that Al-Azhar plays a pivotal role in addressing crises related to the Middle East and areas that witness the highest rates of wars and conflicts, by increasing the number of students coming from those areas to study in its university and institutes, and giving priority to these students in studying the specializations that their societies need and that are compatible with the internal challenges of each society. Therefore, Al-Azhar has increased scholarships offered to youth from Palestine, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Myanmar, and countries of the African continent.

For his part, Dr. Ayman Ashour said, “We are happy to be present today in the Al-Azhar, and we feel proud that Egypt has the oldest university in the world, which is Al-Azhar University, a destination for students coming from all parts of the world to study Islamic sciences and the Arabic language. This is due to Al-Azhar’s global reputation as a great scientific fortress and a destination for researchers around the world to benefit from its scientific and knowledge resources.”

Dr. Ashour pointed out that the programs of the Ministry of Higher Education have become closely aligned with the needs of the labor market, to qualify young people to deal with developments in various industries, companies, and sectors. He stressed that the ministry’s strategy focuses largely on qualifying researchers in various specializations with qualifying courses to enrich their knowledge in various fields of scientific research. This resulted in the increasing number of academic papers published by Egyptian researchers in the most famous scientific and academic journals around the world.

The meeting discussed ways to raise the level of cooperation between the Knowledge Bank, supervised by the ministry, and Al-Azhar University, increase the number of scientific journals affiliated with Al-Azhar University and published through the bank, raise the minimum age for researchers applying for scientific missions, and strengthen the education system for international students and facilitate the mechanisms for their enrollment at Al-Azhar University and various Egyptian universities through the “Study in Egypt” platform. The meeting also discussed cooperation methods for achieving mutual benefit in the areas of digital transformation, registration in public universities, enrollment of Al-Azhar students in institutes affiliated with the Ministry of Higher Education, and discussion of the draft for unified law for higher education and scientific research.

The Grand Imam and the Minister of Higher Education agreed to establish dual permanent committees to coordinate work and cooperation between Al-Azhar and the ministry in the areas of digital transformation, controlling the education system for international students, registering students in colleges and institutes, improving the international ranking of Egyptian universities, and achieving integration between the two parties, making use of areas of distinction in each party, in a way that serves the improvement of the education system in Egyptian universities and the interest of both Egyptian as well as international students.

The meeting was attended by a high-level Azhari delegation that included Dr. Muhammad Al-Duwaini, Undersecretary of Al-Azhar, Dr. Salama Dawoud, President of Al-Azhar University, Sheikh Ayman Abdel-Ghani, Head of Al-Azhar Institutes Sector, Dr. Nazir Ayyad, Secretary-General of the Islamic Research Academy, and Dr. Mahmoud Siddiq, Al-Azhar University Vice-President for Graduate Studies and Research Affairs, Dr. Mohamed El-Sherbiny, Al-Azhar  University Vice President for Education and Student Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Fikry, Al-Azhar University Vice-President for the Affairs of the Female Students’ Branch, Dr. Abdel Dayem Nasir, Cultural and Educational Advisor to His Eminence the Grand Imam, and Dr. Nahla Al-Saidi, Advisor to the Grand Imam for International Student Affairs, and Ambassador Abdel Rahman Moussa,  who is responsible for the Affairs of International Students at Al-Azhar.

Dr. Ayman Ashour was also accompanied by a high-level delegation of leaders from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, which included: Dr. Mustafa Refaat, Secretary of the Supreme Council of Universities, Dr. Muhammad Sami Abdel-Sadiq, Legal Advisor to the Supreme Council of Universities, Professor Sayed Atta, Head of the Education Sector, and Dr. Sherif Saleh, Head of the Education Sector for Cultural Affairs and Missions, Dr. Ayman Farid, Assistant Minister for Strategic Planning, Training and Preparation for the Labor Market, Dr. Mona Hagras, Assistant Secretary of the Supreme Council of Universities, Dr. Atef Omar, Legal Advisor to the Ministry, Dr. Karim Hammam, Advisor to the Minister for Student Activities, Dr. Sherif Kishk, Assistant to the Minister of Higher Education for Digital Transformation, and Dr. Abeer. Al-Shater, Assistant to the Minister for Technical Affairs and Supervisor of the Knowledge Bank, and Ms. Ola Lawrence, Advisor to the Egyptian Knowledge Bank.