Nile University - Corruption Allegations

Corruption Allegations

As part of former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif's strategic plan to introduce research-based universities to Egypt, NU went through a controversial ordeal when a complaint was filed on February 9, 2011 to the attorney general against Nazif, accusing him of abusing his position to gift public land and buildings to NU for its new campus. One week later, the new cabinet decided to transfer control of the new campus from the university to the cabinet’s Education Development Fund (EDF). The charges include Nazif abusing his powers by illegally allocating land worth LE 2 billion to build a new campus for the university. A corruption investigation was launched to examine the relationship between NU and the former government official.

Some claim the corruption charges leveled against the university were politically motivated. Former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik, who was appointed during the revolution after the removal of Nazif, made what university officials characterize as a political move against Nazif by seizing NU’s assets. However, university officials pointed out in the media that it’s impossible to return land to the government when it’s already owned by it. The plan was for NU, categorized as a non-profit university, to rent it from the ministry. Shafik’s decision to confiscate the new campus merely moved ownership from a government organization (the communications ministry) to a governmental fund.

However, the land was ordered to be returned to NU by Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court in April 2013. "It also ruled that NU should be registered as a 'civil' university," states Yasmine Wali of Ahram Online. "The court went on to stress the importance of maintaining NU – which enjoys the status of a legal state entity – and avoid changing students' legal situations.