The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) has so far received about 190 complaints from Qatari students in Egyptian universities who have faced several hurdles in pursuing their education.
Some of the students were also prevented from attending the final exams in September due to the recent measures taken by the Egyptian authorities who placed restrictions on Qatari students in Egyptian universities.
In a press release yesterday, the National Human Rights Committee said that the Egyptian procedures require obtaining security approval before granting Qatari students a visa to complete their studies in Egyptian universities or attending examinations.
The Egyptian authorities had previously said that Qatari students enrolled in Egyptian universities are excluded from the decision of imposing visas on Qataris wishing to visit the Egyptian territory.
Although some of the students have already obtained visas to enter Egyptian territory, authorities refused their entry after arrival at Egyptian airports, claiming they did not obtain security approvals, and demanded that they return to Qatar, the NHRC added.
The Egyptian authorities are placing many obstacles in front of Qatari students studying in Egyptian universities, which caused their failure to attend classes, especially since the academic year 2017-18 has already begun.
The committee warned that these obstacles also led to absence at the second-round examinations and the other exams between September and October 2017, stressing that this represents a gross violation of their right to education.
In this regard, the NHRC said that it had addressed the National Council for Human Rights in Egypt and several international organisations, notably the United Nations Organisation for Education, Science and Culture (Unesco), the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as those actions against Qatari students represent a flagrant violation of the right to education.