Student Union Elections

Are tomorrow. I just found out today. I'd like to say a few words.

No. I'll not ramble on about whether I approve of the current SU structure (I don't) nor talk about what makes it wrong (mainly blocking nominations and giving the management unlimited disciplinary power over what the SU representatives say).

No, I'll not talk about those things. Instead, I'll mention one point: this SU wouldn't have been possible without some people who fought really hard for it, and now at its first stages, it needs those people and others like them who're willing to continue the fight even more.

The SU gives the Students a voice, it cannot make their University better; they can. Depending on how they use it.

So with that in mind, I would like to name a few nominees who I've known during the past couple weeks and who I'd recommend anyday with full faith, both in their ability and their willingness to give the GUC and its Students all that they deserve.

In Random-darts order:

Ahmed Posten - Mostafa Sheshtawy (those two are responsible for the most impressive media work in the GUC SU now, the Candidate Onspot, & Voices of Guc, respectively.

Mahmoud Mortagy 
Maged El-Zainy 
Muhammed Gamal
Mohammed Dawood
Amr Dawood

I know there are many great candidates out there, this is just a list of the people I know and dealt with who I know are running. Give them your support, and to everyone else, I'm wishing you the best of luck.

P.S. everyone-else-luck wishes include boycotters who want to change by saying no, to each his own. One of them

Mohammed


Edit: *I failed to mention my favorite boycotter-candidate as well, though I don't know why I would do that. Maybe you should vote for him all the same, Hussein El-Said.



 

Ambassador's Statement

I'm not too involved with the Guc business anymore; more relevant people are doing that task. But I received this on email from the embassy yesterday and I couldn't let it pass without a few thoughts. I'll only touch this briefly and it should be up to you - gucians - to lead the discussion, leave comments if you want, and I'll put it together to formulate the response. In the meantime .. (blue italics are my comments)

Cairo, 4 April 2011

Michael Bock

   

German Ambassador
on the German University in Cairo

The young people of Egypt have brought the promise of democracy and rule of law to their nation. It was deeply gratifying to witness students of the German University in Cairo at the forefront of the peaceful revolution. As a consequence, Egyptians everywhere are now asking how a higher degree of participation and responsibility can be achieved. This question is also being asked at the country's universities.

As a member of the GUC's Board of Trustees, I take a deep interest in these developments and, in particular, in the current debate on how the university should function and be further improved. I know that all my fellow board members, whether they are Egyptian or German, are committed to this goal.

I don't doubt the sincerity of the ambassador,but if the other members of the board had really been committed to this goal, how come they tried to shut down the discussion with (allegedly) threats and (factually) suspensions? And how come they refused to listen, respond or set a meeting with the students as they requested during the last board meeting?   

We can be proud of what GUC has achieved since it opened its doors to the first students just 8 years ago. GUC today provides a higher education that is among the best in Egypt and the entire region. GUC alumni go on to be highly successful in both the professional and academic spheres; the feedback I get on the quality of graduates is excellent.

Concerning Alumni: the guc releases no data, on what criteria is 'highly successful .. professional and academic ..', do we have reports on Alumni placements? positions? research achievements? how they compare through the region (say Auc) ?    

GUC is a private university under Egyptian law and is dependent on its students' tuition fees. Admission to GUC is not, however, limited to those with the necessary financial means. We believe that the GUC system of reductions and grants gives talented students from all backgrounds a chance to receive an outstanding education. GUC invests heavily in people, equipment and infrastructure. Shareholder value is quite evidently not the university's first priority.

There's a lot to say here, but mainly: 'necessary financial means' 'invests heavily in people, equipment and infrastructure' as many times as we asked, the university was never forthcoming or transparent whenever  questions were posed by students and faculty that the Guc does not, in fact, invest heavily at all in any of those three categories - the most advertised of those equipment like the dmc for example (digital media campus) were not open for real use by students since they were installed - the industrial park is too inaccessible and students go through a long process to get authorization to work in it and some machines are off-limits as well (according to materials science students).

But the main question is: if the Guc does really place education financially first, then why does it not respond to any inquiries in financial spending? instead more and more fees are levied on students (you can't check your final exam grade unless you pay a 'remarking' fee! does any respectable university in the world force students to pay should they wish to see their grades? 'Shareholder value .. first priority' I really cannot agree with that statement, unless the Guc was willing to provide strong and factual evidence. The facts on the ground - what we see with our own eyes every day, is that more and more policies are introduced which increase profit and do not contribute to a better quality of education - quite the opposite, sometimes. .

GUC devises its curricula in cooperation with leading German universities. Most of its curricula are compatible with the Bologna process and the great majority of them are accredited by ACQUIN, the German Accreditation, Certification and Quality Assurance Institute. GUC also has the highest number of Germans on the teaching staff of any German university abroad worldwide. The German government funds extensive mobility programmes for GUC students and scholars.

The initial promise of the Guc was that degrees would be awarded from the Universities of Stuttgart and Ulm, this was part of the reason many of us enrolled. Why did the two patron Universities not go through with this agreement, if the Guc curricula was as good as they initially deemed? Bearing in mind that the two rectors of those universities are in the Guc's board of trustees. As for ACQUIN, 'the great majority' means some curricula are not  accredited? 'even though Guc?  The Guc claims '.. fully accredited courses and degrees ..'.

'highest number of Germans' but not the '50%' explicitly promised? how much is the percentage, then? 'the German government funds mobility programs ..' yet the Guc does not let most students go through these programs unless they pay certain fees to the Guc while they're away - that is, while they're not even attending in the Guc (the University claims those fees are for costs like flight and dorms, but when students asked to handle their own arrangements because the Guc's were much more expensive they were refused)  .. This happens in visits to both Ulm and Stuttgart, the rectors of those two Universities should know. 

Also, the ACQUIN accreditation is based on the Guc's promise of 8 semesters international degrees (for Engineering) the Guc broke that promise and in fact, forced students to stay and pay fees for the fifth year or they would not get the international degree they already fulfilled the requirements to - this is beyond their right even as a Business Entity with which we had a set agreement and then they do not deliver what they promised in that agreement.   

 

GUC's educational vision is not limited to academic quality. Students are encouraged to be an active and responsible part both of their immediate environments and society at large. In the next days, the students of GUC are to elect a student union. It will voice their views and concerns and thus contribute to a more open and structured communication at GUC. Germany continues to support this process and I myself remain personally committed to it.

'Students are encouraged to be active' 'voice their views' '.. open ..'? how are they encouraged if, for protesting - peacefully and without any harm to anyone- 15 of them were suspended and they're only back at the Guc now because they 'committed' to not breaking the 'rules' again? how can we say that, when we know there has been allegations of threats and harassment to student and faculty representatives during the past couple of weeks and no inquiry, no response, was issued from the University to those allegations nor have the Embassy responded formally to our demands to look into the situation? 

Effectively, the Guc sent a message by its last actions: Students are not allowed to voice their concerns openly or they would be target, what would be the use of those students being in a 'union' - the bylaws of which give the University the power to 'discipline' the entire 'organization' should any of this unions committee members make a 'false statement ..  either orally or in writing .. to any University employee .. outside media .. external organizations ' 'the organization shall be subject to discipline'. Those last three quotes were taken from the official bylaws.


I'm assuming determining its a 'lie' and deciding on the 'discipline' are both tasks in the hand of the University's management.  

'open communication'?

 

*****

Edit: Because the law prohibits personal insults, I'll have to remove any comments with swearing or cursed-words against any individuals, should someone feel that a certain content in the blog personally offends them, they're welcome to contact me and I'll rectify the situation - this is about ideas, not people.

*****
     

No One Wins ..

For starters, After the first protest I've been to (And the second one to occur since this thing started) I did not really advocate protests of the forcefull-loud type -- like I told one of the people on the 'other' side, our beloved Faculty dean: I'd rather listen to music, have a quiet cup of coffee .. friendly conversation .. convince people .. maybe even meet a nice girl in the process! -- Than to march and shout my lungs out through the B and C Buildings ..

And there's a new law in Egypt, and most of the Suspended Students have gotten back already with a Compromise in which they promise not to break any University laws but they Have the Full Freedom to Express their Mind ..

This Tactically means one Battle is over. And its up to the different sides to decide how to proceed next - with cooperative reform or, awareness campaigns or Union pressure. Whatever. The Management now knows I think, it cannot ignore its Student's demands forever (and Faculty). And the Students know their voices have power ..

As for me, I've spent enough for this already - I'll need to get back to my life, I'll give this website to one of the younger Gucians. Its their cause now ..

With all the wishes to Make our University better.

Mohammed.

Maybe I was Wrong (draft) / Oppression

*edit: scroll down to the end, there's a part which is margined, its the most important one*

Because I saw a wrong and tried to right it, Because I believed that its our duty to say the Truth when we know it, to speak up for those who can't speak for themselves. 

I'm really frustrated - I can't express how much, by the way events have unfolded in recent days .. 

I spoke up for a cause that isn't mine - that doesn't personally concern me, because I care for the Guc. By the Guc, I mean its Students and Academics .. 

They were contacting me and they were being bullied - just like we've been bullied before, by Power and Money. Threaten with expulsion and firing after they gave the Guc so much, after they gave years and effort and so much money they can't afford there: To tell them that if they complain, they'd be kicked out and not get the certificates that they worked so hard for,  that they'd lose years and damage their future, thats bullying.

I don't know if its Political Connections or the Wealth, but they seem to know no Fear. They're not afraid to insult Students or Academics, they're not afraid of the courts or lawsuits, they're not afraid of the Ministry of Higher Education .. They're not afraid of anything.

I think its because, they've been used to stomping their foot on those Students and Academics and to never hear them speak, so they think they should do it some more. But I thought something had changed .. 

So I spoke up, at great personal risk. I don't know if any of you knows what happened today, but there was supposed to be an event. That event I blogged about yesterday, so everyone knows what we were planning  - to sit in Campus and talk to people, without getting in anyone's way. To have coffee and music and draw banners and think of how to make our University a better place. 

But that, to the Mansour Brothers, is Taboo; '7araam'. Why? I leave you to answer that. You do not criticize their leadership, you do not question anything that they tell you, you do not dare to demand your rights. They're above that. 

You do not address them without saying doctor, you do not speak of them - even when they're not around, by first name. Because that is disrespectable. 

Yet they can allude to you by saying 'إذا جائكم فاسق' and "السفيه فلا تجبه", one of them can wave his hand at your face and say .. 'هوه ميين ده عشان يتكلم!' .. with total disrespect, They're above you. 

The  سفيه  and  فاسق is apparently  me, by the way .. Also, it seems they think that me accusing the Guc Chairman of Mismanagement is like حديث الإفك, this tells you alot about their Mentality. 

Now, I don't care for being insulted, personally. Because a Man's Honour is determined by his actions and values, by his stands, and not by names he gets called. And I only did what was right. 

Yet lets talk about their actions and values: they distribute my picture throughout the gates and tell security to not let me in - apparently, when I ask for a written statement explaining why I'm banned to take to the Courts and the Ministry, the don't give me one, so that they can deny it. 

Since I did not get a clear statement, I did go on - my fellow students took me. According to one of them: all the security got punished because of that. I wonder, what did they want them to do, hit us?

And when we're told after protesting peacefully and quietly for hours that the President and the Vice-Chairman of the Board will meet us, the respectable Mr. Mahmoud Hashim and Prof. Hans-Wolff of  Duale Hochshule and Ulm, they insult and kick me out - they say they'll not let me in because I'm a 'liar' when I asked them to name one thing that I lied about, they don't.

So they refused to face me, and the students stayed outside to support my case. 

They refused to face me or reply to my emails, they refused to print facts, because they know I'm right. 

They continued to try and change the subject by an attack on my personal character: now I ask you: I've had nothing to hide so far, I've sent them those emails with my name signed on the bottom, I told them I'd welcome and publish a reply and would apologize if I was wrong, I attacked what they do to the students, I did not concern myself with anything else. 

And if I was wrong with everything I've said - if I had been misguided in all my information and my demands, does that give them the right to insult and prosecute me? To call me names and kick me out and abuse their power and authority - I did not need to stay silent when I was getting those insults, Mr. Magdy Mansour should've known I could've replied to him word for word if I wanted, but I did not. Why? To prove a point. 

To prove that the current management of the University is unsuitable for its Academics and Students, to not give them any excuse for the things they said and did. 

This is not about them insulting me - understand, they can ban me from their little piece of Paradise that is the Guc, it won't harm me. This is about 'you' who speaks up, you will not be tolerated. They did all they can to hurt me but thank God I graduated - What if a TA speaks? What if a Student does, what do you think will they do to them?

What really frustrates me though is: the Academics and Students who did not join our cause - Especially the Academics, very few TAs did, and no doctors at all. Why, I ask you? If you don't mind having your rights taken by Mr. Mansour and his brother, its your duty to stand up for your students and TAs who cannot even say their mind without being insulted and threatened: they'll deny they threatened anyone, but you saw what they did with me and they would do worse to anyone. 

I'm frustrated at those Academics and Students because, had they stood up for us and each other, had they come down in protest to the treatment of Mr. Mansour - he and his brother would not have been able to do this to us, to bully us like this, they would not have been able to fire and expel and insult everyone. But those Academics and Students didn't.

If they had came down before, this wouldn't have happened today. He would've had to give people their rights. If they had stood hand in hand like a community should do .. Now, I tried to stand for them, and what I get from some of the staff is .. its none of your business, don't argue our case .. My mistake. 

And what I hear is some of the students are saying also .. none of your business, you deserve this. 

And while I don't care for personal injury the least - I tried to do whats right, and let them have as much money and power as they want, what are they gonna do with it? there's justice from god in the end - and while I was planning to just let this go and .. as those my fellow students and academic told me .. leave them to speak up or get lied to and abused and mislead ..   

Although it wasn't all of them who said this. 

But I just got a call from a friend: And it seems that some Students are now sleeping out there in Guc's garden in the Cold to protest. In all the Nobleness of Mr. Magdy Mansour's heart, he refused to let anyone go in or out to get blankets or anything to drink or eat, he shut down the buildings and its bathrooms so that they'd stay outside in the garden - a tactic to force them to suffer so that they could quickly quit - even though normally Students and Staff can always stay up very late in the Guc. 

This is according to their account.

So I changed the post, I was planning not to go to the Guc anymore, to say 'enough' .. I've made the facts clear to people and I can't force them to change things if they don't want. But if those students continue to be wronged like this, I might not stick to that plan .. 

He threatened to assault them with force and get the police to remove them - one of them told me he said its his 'Private Property', 'the Mansour Family owns the majority of shares in the 'Institution'', and that they can with it what they want.

And with it its Students and Academics and TAs I guess .. 

Its not my cause anymore, its your choice. But, for those brave students .. 7araam 3ala ayye 7ad saket, regardless of what they think their reasons are .. if you don't want to fight for your right thats your option, but if you don't want to fight for those who need your help that you can give .. 

7araam. 

Tomorrow will be a Beautiful day ..

Gucians, Here are my thoughts ..

By Gucians, I mean all of you who are attached to this University: Alumni, Academics, TAs, Students ..

Last time we had a protest, we marched and marched to Mr. Mansour's office, we united, we shouted, and we were not afraid. Basically, we showed that we can stand together, that he can't stop or punish any one of us from saying our thoughts .. Because of he does, we'll all fight.

The list of demands we had, were too specific - they were things we could argue about. So we scrapped it altogether, and focused on the main issues - that Academics are the ones who teach us and they should have more responsibility over that, that the University treats all of us with dignity and respect, that they treat us with honesty and give us good leadership, that they use most of our money for our education and keep a fair share for their profit.

So far, this list was widely popular with everyone it was sent: because we did not tell people what to do, we asked the University to let  people figure out what they want to do; Academics and Students, we're all here to make our University the best ..

At this point: we don't need to show force, what we need is to be positive, I think, we've almost one, we're just waiting for the results. If the Guc community does not want to be governed the same way it is being governed now because, lets face it, not one single person I've talked to likes Mr. Mansour's leadership - his person doesn't matter, we're talking about the management style now - then this leadership will change, either by Mr. Mansour changing the style himself, or installing a new person.

We've won, I think, because once we're freely able to say our opinions, to demand our rights, it might take a little bit of time but eventually, we'll get everyone's support: everyone in the Guc wants the best for it, we all feel like its ours, like we belong there, students and staff. I know, I've been here 7 years.

In the meantime, the University Management knows it cannot stop one of us - it cannot threaten us anymore. While it might take time for our fellow students and staff to be convinced of our ideas, of how we want the University to change, It'll not take them A SECOND to publicly rise up of Mr. Mansour expels, insults or fires one of us. If Mr. Mansour punishes one of them for voicing his opinion.

So? We've won, just patience now, and positive. Tomorrow I hope, will be a nice day .. Tomorrow, we'll have music maybe, we'll paint banners together in the C, we'll drink coffee and share stories and laugh and argue with our teachers and friends, Prof. Mansour will know it, he'll see it. Once we're united, we'll not settle for little change. Tomorrow or after, he'll try to give in to some small demands,in order to silence us so we won't ask for our full rights .. We'll continue anyway, peacefully and quietly, because we're sure of ourselves, we're sure of our way .. There'll be more events.

It'll not be the last time, and I hope you all join us if for a little bit and listen, for the future of our beloved Guc. People always argue that the Auc is better and that we can never be as good, 'because the Auc is an exception', 'because its been there for a long time', 'because because because' .. Thats not true: the Guc is an Empty canvas as of yet, its new and exciting, it has the resources and the potential. We don't want to copy the System of the Auc, we'll be even better - I promise you, we're the German University in Cairo, We don't have to fellow, we'll lead. We don't have to copy, we'll innovate. We don't have to be the Best of the worst, we'll be a new category of Universities altogether. I promise you.

And its gonna be so much better.

Mohammed




P.S. even though I'm talking really nice here, I've to say as well: we've a plan, because we'll be nice  tomorrow for the sake of our colleagues, our teachers and our friends, that doesn't mean the Members of the Board will be left in peace. They already now what we have to pressure them, and eventually, they'll know we win.

Just have faith.

the Truth comes to Light .. (a very important testimony)

People,

I want to clarify: this is a post from Dr. Kareem Darwish, who was one of our most beloved and respected doctors if you ask anyone from our first batches who had the chance to study under him.

Dr. Kareem resigned early in protest to the wrongs of the Guc - he wrote this now after I and some other of his past students approached him, asked him to help us, we warned him he could be attacked with accusations from the university's, but we needed his help. He had nothing to gain, but he obliged.

We thank you Dr. Kareem, and all the others who stand with us for no reason other than doing whats right ..

This is a very important testimony .. You have to read.


AA,
    Below are my thoughts.
Kareem

A dispute ensues between an employee and his employer over pay, where the employer deducted a portion of the employee's pay for “not completing the required work hours.” This happens frequently at workplaces everyday everywhere. However, this time was slightly different than usual. The employee was not a blue collar worker, but rather a college professor. The employer was a university. The employee was one of the distinguished faculty members at the university, where he delivered some of the best lectures, assigned serious projects to students, spent countless hours mentoring students, supervised graduate students, held students to the highest academic standards, collaborated with external research organizations, and published in international conferences. It would seem puzzling that such a faculty member would get a pay deduction, particularly that there was clearly no sign of dereliction of duty!

This is how my story with the GUC ended. I discovered a pay deduction in May, 2005 salary on May 29, 2005 and the ensuing discussion with the university on the morning of May 30, 2005 where I demanded my full pay was utterly fruitless. What I was told by the university president, who was practically powerless, was that I did “excellent work”, but given the punch-in punch-out records I was “missing some hours” and if “I don't like the rules, I should leave”. I promptly submitted my resignation within an hour of that discussion.

When I was interviewing with the GUC, I was constantly told that the GUC aspired to be the best university in Egypt, aimed to be a premier research organization, held students and faculty to the highest academic standards, and cared about quality. I was swooned by what I heard, and decided to quit my post at the University of Maryland in the US and join the GUC. My first day at the GUC was January 16, 2004. Unfortunately, on that specific day I felt that I was completely deceived by the less-than-truthful propaganda. On my first day, I realized that I had to leave once I find a new opportunity. Many things led me to this conclusion, but most strikingly was when I was told by the person who was training the faculty for proctoring that if we observe a student cheating from a cheat-sheet we are only allowed to take away the cheat-sheet and the student should continue the exam normally. When I protested such lame action, I was told that the GUC is “a private university”. In more blunt terms, the GUC is a “for-profit” outfit and it should not upset its customers!

The for-profit theme (at the expense of academic quality) continued through out my tenure at the GUC. Some of the exhibitions of this theme included:

1. Senseless and exorbitant pay cuts and financial penalties on faculty and students for “infractions”. I was astonished when the administration placed gates where faculty members would punch-in and punch-out. It was billed initially as a security measure. However, the information collected from the gates was meant to “catch” faculty who would leave half an hour early on one day or arrive a bit late to promptly deduct from their pay. I would perhaps accept such a practice at a factory, but to see this being done at an academic institution where faculty typically spend countless hours at home preparing lectures, working on research, or grading papers, this was just too much. This was simply a cost-cutting ploy.
2. Failure to pay social insurance for faculty and staff. I spent nearly 20 months at the GUC and the GUC neither gave me a formal contract nor paid social insurance for me.
3. Denying simple requests for research material. I submitted a request to obtain material for approximately $800 to be able to conduct research. After a protracted and arduous request process, I never got any response back. Lack of response was an effective NO.
4. Prolonged delays in installing air conditioning units in offices despite the sweltering heat.
5. Failure to give yearly raises to faculty and staff that are specified by labor law.
6. Assigning faculty an unreasonable proctoring duties that other universities typically hire temporary contractors to do or at least give bonus pay for the staff who participate in such proctoring.
7. Failure to provide adequate supplies for some of the labs. I had to request that students buy electronic supplies to make a project for one of my classes, because I was simply told that the university was not going to spend the money for such supplies.
   And the list goes on and on.

Unfortunately, I regret joining the GUC, where I think I wasted 20 months of my life. After leaving the GUC, I was blessed with a researcher position at IBM and later at Microsoft Research. The only thing I appreciate about the GUC was mentoring some wonderful students who believed that they can get a good education, dreamed of great things, and were willing to exert themselves. Given initial enthusiasm of people and the available resources, the GUC could have been a great place for faculty and students. However, the for-profit mentality that gripped its administration poisoned and ruined its potential, alienating students and driving good faculty members to leave.

Kareem Darwish

a professor speaks ..

I've sent an email to the Guc Academics today (the ones whose emails I can get) and Since this is the first reply, I'll start with it. More to come.

Its from a professor from the Faculty of Management Technology who's currently at the Guc, afterwards comes the email I've sent.

I leave you to judge.

RE: To the Teachers we Admire and Appreciate

'
Dear Mohammed

Many thanks for your warm and kind words about us academics - and well done to your letters / e-mails you've written!
Although I do not share every detail of your e-mails, I think that you are in some crucial parts absolutely right; university needs to be a place of open and public discourse and, most importantly, university needs to be a place where academics and students feel at home.
Because of the very "unique" GUC-system I, too, think that most academics do not feel at home. To work as an academic is not a job, but a lifestyle decision. And at GUC there are too many regulations which go against the very idea of being and working as an academic. As a consequence, the turnover-rate is not only worringly high, but both teaching and research suffer.

So, let's hope that also at GUC things will change to the better.

Best
'

And then my Email:



I wanted to explain my motives for the email you've all got today, to to speak from the heart.

Walk around in the Guc, talk to Students, and you'll figure one thing out: We all love our Teachers, really, we can see that they toil and struggle and try to help us, we can see that their mission is Education. No one appreciates his Teachers more than I do, ask any of the people I've studied under, the ones I made sure to say thanks time and time after I did graduate. 

And I don't have any personal interest in this University becoming better anymore except out of the Love of those teachers and Care for my young collages who are struggling, I did well for myself, I graduated, earned my Masters, got the High Honours list. But this doesn't mean that when I see wrong being done, when I see an Institution with all the people in it being dragged to the ground, that I should shut up. yeb2a 7araam 3aleyya.

From my talks to many past faculty and staff, and from my experience as a student, I can see that they're all suffering. Teachers feel discontented because they can't help their students as they need to do, students can't learn and feel frustrated, they're treated with complete oppression to the point everyone is even afraid to public speak their mind - since when did someone feel afraid to criticize a university system publicly, right and wrong? This is all for the sake of Education, that mission is more essential than anything to the development of those young generations - of the shape of their future. 

By everyone I meant the students and some TAs that I know of that think this is true, many others don't speak up I realize because they think its more constructive to criticize in private, but in this university it isn't. Everyone knows where the two problems of this university lie: the Upper Management's, The one in the very third floor, total disregard for the welfare of its faculty and students, its disrespectful and arrogant treatment to them, and its insistence on stifling their learning and academic freedom. The other wrong thing is profit or a wrong financial philosophy, you could say ,   

In this philosophy, faculty are overworked - how do you give personal attention with so many courses and so many crowded lecture halls? I know you do, and you give your best, but you're only human. And your students are harmed, and the sad thing is .. We all know the University can afford and did promise us better: '200 students divided into 8 modules .. small class sizes facilitate personal attention and interaction' the brochure said, but that wasn't right .. 

In this philosophy also, Salaries are held down, Faculty get their every hour logged and even if they do their job brilliantly, a missed day could get them discounted - we feel that this is disrespectful to our Teachers and this hurts us, its not trivial that a student, an young person at the very first few years of their adult lives, feel the lack of dignity in the way they and the people they look up to are treated. Its not small that students are ignored, disrespected, shunned, never listened to, and insulted. 

So, for the sake of the mission of Education that I know you're all committed to, for the betterment of our University and community - a University is an Educational Institute, not just a business, as a business it has to run honestly, and as an Educational Institute it has to put the wellfare of its Students and Faculty first.

For that mission, I urge you to talk, speak up, say your minds, advice, contradict, I don't mind if your opinions differ to mine - ours, I don't mind disagreement, but you have to participate, this is a dialogue for the future of our University, you're the most important people in it - without you it wouldn't be. You can't just sit this out. 

You can advice us or endorse us, you can reply to me personally in confidence and anonymously if you want, or you can just say it out loud. If people are honest and sincere in their desire to fix something, they're not afraid of talking openly about it with nothing to hide. The university management hides things because of their insincerity, because they mislead the students into paying more fees and the faculty into working more hours  and this Institution does not end being what it deserves, what everyone involved pays for! in both money and effort - the teachers efforts .. 

So please, engage, you'vve a responsibility, those are your students, you can't abandon them now , this is a personal plea .. 

With all sincerity ,

Yours,

Mohammed  

email to the german affiliates of the guc, plus all staff members ..

To/ 

Prof. Dr. Peter Frankenberg, Prof. Dr. Hans Wolff, H. E. Brend Erbel, Prof. Dr. Wolfram Ressel, Prof. Dr. Karl Joachim Ebeling, Prof. Dr. Dieter Fritsch, Dr. Arend Oetker .. German Members of the Board of Trustees 

Professor Paul Kühn, Professor Hans Peter Großmann, Professor Stefan Laufer, Professor Hartmut Seliger, Professor Hans-Dieter Görtz, Professor Erich Zahn, Professor Dieter Beschorner, Professor Eberhard Roos, Professor Paul Ziemann, Professor Rayan Abdullah .. Founding Deans of Faculties 

I'm a member of the German university in Cairo's Alumni, a Masters graduate with High Honours from the Media Engineering and Technology Faculty .. I'm speaking of behalf of myself and some former and current students and faculty .. 

During the past couple of weeks, there has been severe escalation at the Guc, following a number of student protests and staff/management negotiations, at the center of this standoff is the declining Guc's educational experiance quality, and the values that the Guc Management lacks in its treatment of its students. 

For the past 8 years since its initiation, the Guc has not given us what we were promised - a German System of Education. The Guc Chairman and Founder, Prof. Ashraf Mansour, has been interfering in in every little aspect of its running, undermining the Authority of its Deans and Academic faculty, and the credibility of its Education. 

This has been witnessed and told to us by many different current and past academics, interference includes passing students whose professors deemed must fail, and failing/dropping courses for students the professors might've wanted to give a chance .. 

The chairman of the board of trustees has marginalized the university's President, who's president by name only. Has installed policies which are humiliating to both students and academics, He also stripped the Institution of many fundamental German and Universal Educational values (or it happened under his leadership anyways): like students right to have a union, complain without being harassed and threatened with expulsion, or object to unfair treatment; cases like being in dropped in courses the students did attend, not accepting medical excuses which should be accepted, not allowing them to do their bachelor projects during the summer, imposing semester fees on students who do their thesis abroad in German institutions even though they do not attend at the Guc during that period, refusing to award engineering international certificates on the fourth year as they were promised thus forcing the students to continue and pay for the fifth year against their will, hiding final exam grades and imposing a fee on the students should they wish to view it! The list goes on and on .. 

Those things and many others constitute a breach of faith on our contract with the Guc on the basis of which we entered, we were promised small class sizes then ended up with lecture halls of up to 250 students, we were promised 50% German academics staff yet even the German language center is mostly based on non-native speakers, after four courses of german, most students pass yet they don't even speak the language at a very basic level .. 

Worse is Mr. Mansour's total disregard to the demands of students and staff, their dignity and the respect of the Educational Institute. Research is almost dead in the Guc, and each year, protest resignations are by the handful.  

From what I understand the Guc was supported by funds German government agencies, that large sums of money were spent to support it. Some sources speculate that the Guc spends only less than 15-20% of education, those were not just rumors, they were practical observations, drawn from the fact that the Guc has 7000 students this year, around 500 on scholerships according to them, and inferring from their fee structure: more then 280-300 million egyptian pounds a year enter the German university in Cairo.

Yet with the low salaries they pay and the severe understaffing of departments, estimates on total academic salaries hover between 25-70 million egyptian pounds a year, . This is too low to a percentage of the university's revenue to be spent on academics.  

If those estimates are indeed, true, which most past and present members of Guc faculty we talked to seemed to agree to, where does the rest of the money go? They all agree that the Guc spends very little on research as well, that its difficult to obtain that least amount of funding (Students and Staff paid from their pocket for many things on the Robocup competition last year) .. And why does Germany not pressure Mr. Mansour, since they've provided so many funds for him, to divert the funds into Academics and Education?  

Of course, Prof. Mansour is free to provide transparency and if indeed there's no financial mismanagement he has no reason to hold back from releasing any financial records, those should include donations, taxes and distinguish between the university's total expenditure on salaries between the academic and the managerial ones (for the obvious reasons). 

We love our University, we love our Academics and Deans who've worked so hard to teach us and we're grateful for them, they suffer with us as well, and we can't really learn if they don't get better working conditions - less hours, more respect (the Guc logs every professors entrance and exit hour, they subtract from their salary sometimes if they miss a day, tell me, am I wrong or is this disrespectful and, never the thing that'd happen in Germany? Most doctors I've talked to said they left because of lack of respect, from Mr. Mansour personally) and academic independence, more freedom to do what they want with teaching and research without interference or tiresome and time-wasting centralized bureaucracy.   

And we do not want the cooperation with Germany to end, on the contrary, we want it to strengthen, this is one of the first German International Universities in the world and it is sad that it does not really represent the quality or the values of Germany, in Germany, students don't get threatened with expulsion if they say their minds, in Germany, if a students alleges to be physically assaulted by a staff member, and many students stand up for her, they don't all get suspended while the staff member does nothing - of course, I say alleged because I don't know the exact correctness of the event, and I would never want be an unfair to a staff member in case they've been wrongfully accused, but in Germany, at least the University would issue a statement regarding the case, explaining its decision on the event, that way the staff member would be defended and have his name cleared as well. In Mr. Mansour's university, the students could protest angrily outside his office for hours, and he'd not even respond.

We want to know, respectable board members, why does this continue? What is the exact arrangement between yourselves and the Guc? Does the German side own shares in the University, does it have a voting power to change the President and the Chairman, or does it even have partial voting powers, and if so by how much? 

And if the German side does not indeed have any leverage over Mr. Mansour, if he completely owns the University and is legally allowed to make as much profit as he wants from it, what is the German side's take on this situation? If the students and the staff press for a change of management, complain to the Egyptian Authorities, will they support us? Remember, we've entered this university based on your credibility, the credibility of the people representing German Education and the Universities of Ulm, Tuebingen and Stuttgart, to 'assure the excellence of education and quality', we ask your help in assuring that excellence now. The Guc aggressively used that credibility in its marketing.

The Guc can be a Leading class Institute representing German Education all over the world, it should not, after all the hard work and effort poured into it, be undone by one man's mismanagment. The University is an Institute by itself, belonging to its Community and its Researchers and Students. All our complaints are legitimate and should an investigation be opened in the matter and faculty and students contacted, they'd be verified and more would surface, we want an end to Prof. Mansour's Management, installing a new, credible and independent president, and introduce new rules regarding Guc's Transparency and a Profit limit of 10-15% since by Egyptian law the primary purpose of a private university SHOULD NOT be to make profit, and electing a chairman the Students and Faculty would accept and trust. I ask that the Esteemed Board Members and Founders look at our case, not abandon this Institute, support us in our demands and answer our questions regarding their leverage and involvement. There were rumors circulating that the Universities of Ulm and Stuttgart would withdraw their Support, it'd be a tragedy if that happens, Again, we want more cooperation with Germany to give this Institution and its members the esteem they deserve and rise up with it to its full potential .. 

I know that there's a Board of Trustees meeting this Saturday, I ask that you meet the representatives of the Students and Staff, without the presence of any of the Guc's Upper Management. Its not that we're not going to do this ourselves; the Guc Community should and will affect its own change by itself for the betterment of our University, its just that we feel mislead when it comes to our dealing with the Management and your input would help us be clear on things.    

We're waiting for an answer from you .. 

Thank you, 

Mohammed Al-Mehdar

----- 

P.s. we've more facts and they're being published now, you can keep updated here: gucian-voice.blogspot.com .. 

He Doesn't Realize it but He's Gone

In my last post, I've advocated change at the top of the Guc leadership. Fear not,  Change is Coming.

After the so many responses I've become more and more convinced that that change is Certain.

You see no one questioned that Ashraf Mansour's leadership style has failed, Not one Single Person tried to argue to defend him. The main objections I got were: He cant go, He's the owner of this University. 

This false belief is the result of two things: First, people are unaware of the laws and conventions that govern such Institutions, simply put: Universities have a Mission of Education, in that Mission the importance falls on the Academic Staff and the Students, thats where the real decision power making should be, never in the world does a President continue managing the University without the support of its Students. 

I say President, because thats another point people are unaware about: The Chairman is a Chairman of the Board of Trustees only, he calls their meetings, takes their votes, and they decide on the President who handles the day to day running of the University. Then they listen to the Staff and Students and evaluate his performance. 

But Prof. Mansour instead installs a President by title only who no one obeys and then centralizes all decision making in the Chairman's office, stepping over the Authorities of the President, the Faculty Deans and the Doctors - This is fact, the Guc Managment even interferes in grading. This is done nowhere in the world.

And of the thousands of Private universities in the world, only a handful are run by their owners - an extremely small minority. And then usually in third-rate certificate giving universities, never an important and ambitious one as the Guc. 

So he will resign as Chairman or limit the position to its original authorities in the least, He'll not go anywhere, we're not asking to take his money. He'll still own and have a say in the board when they elect a new chairman and a new honest President who's Independent and Focuses on the Teaching, not Profit! And who the students and the staff would accept. 

The owners will still collect a reasonable amount of return on their investment and the President would not let less than 85-90% of what the students pay GO TO THEIR Education, now that figure is probably in the range of shamefully 15-30%.

This will rise up with our University beyond what anyone can imagine: and thats the second point, people don't know how, beyond all the 'best in the region and world' slogans, are university - our students, researchers, and staff, how far they are from fulfilling their potential as one the truly best universities in the world and the region. 

But thats okay .. we have time .. during the next two weeks Prof. Mansour has one of two options on his hand: give us an Honest, Completely Student-Governed Union; which means he has NO say on WHO they nominate (he'll use the rules to choose those who don't oppose him) or any limits on the Unions ability to organize protests and strikes (otherwise it has no means to press it demands and it becomes useless) - Furthermore, we will NOT accept any retaliatory action OF ANY NATURE against those who speak their minds (Punishments): the students who were organizing the protests were still being threatened to 'fear for their future' by Mr. Mansour's aides last week (according to them).

Its not students against the Guc, its Guc Chairman against the Guc. The TAs had already started negotiating with Mr. Mansour behind back doors and they have already pressed demands which are on the side of the students and have since threatened to join the students strike if they're not satisfied. And there's already pressure from Germany and once this reaches the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education, it would not allow this University to go down, for some of the best academic talent in Egypt plus seven thousand students to go to waste for the cost of Mr. Mansour’s pride and policies, if his Institution does not want his leadership, he’ll go.

So If we get our union, we'll still advocate through it to fix ALL and EVERY little thing thats wrong, it'll just give us more power and time for our cause, in the end, people will realize the troubles of the Guc all fall back to him, and he’ll still be out. 

And if we don't, we'll protest and protest and he'll face two choices: Act stubborn with us and let the situation enter into a deadlock and ministry will intervene by setting someone else in Charge according to the regulations and laws (no, it won't shut down or be publicized, those are crazy scare tactics) or his board will not agree to lose all their money because of one man's pride and they'll vote him out as Chairman (they're owners too, remember that), that is, if he doesn't realize he needs to step down to preserve his own fortune himself. 

We’ll also set up the Union ourselves, let it be known: we never needed his Permission, its our right.

Of course, there’s a Scenario that Prof. Mansour’s Managment style will change, I wouldn't mind, I have nothing against Prof. Mansour's person, but I don’t believe he will. Even now he has not met with the Students Representatives, after the events of last week. He’s letting them talk to his aides. Even now rumors were being spread and promises were taken back, the negotiations are not held in good faith.  

So, this year or the next, agrees to union or not, Prof. Mansour ill-treatment of his Staff and Students will one day stop. In the next coming few days, I'll be publishing facts and figures and leaked documents, this is worse than you imagine. Stay tuned. 

we're doing this for our University's sake .. 

     

P.S. If they decide to dispute this in anyway, the claims about the profit especially, let them release their financial statement, they'll argue its their right to hide and sure, we can argue about that. But if there really was no mismanagment, if there were no mistakes that resulted on most of the money not being channeled to us, they wouldn't mind. IF YOU HAVE NOTHING WRONG YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE. None of us will be angry at them of they earn a large sum of money, just as long as we get a reasonable amount of what we pay for back in Education, at least more than 75%. 

Oh, and just for you they claim they have huge costs: upper management salaries do not count. 

The Email/Request

For those who don't know, I've sent my last post directly to Dr. Ashraf Mansour and gave him the chance to reply, here's the email (i deleted the email suffixes to so I wouldn't cause spamming):

from	Mohammed AlMehdar
to		Ashraf.Mansour@
cc		mahmoud.abdelkader@essam.hamouda@ibrahim.dimeery@
date		Sat, Mar 12, 2011 at 3:39 AM
subject		Why Ashraf Mansour Should Leave
mailed-by		gmail.com

Dear Prof. Mansour, 

This is a post I've written on my own regarding the current situation and your management policies. Its all over the FB groups and profiles. I do not mean to throw accusations, and I'm not the type of person to say things which are untrue or which I don't believe in. In that spirit, I've giving you the chance to respond directly. Should you choose to, I'll gladly post your reply in the same place as this one, and if  I'm wrong, please tell me, convince me, and I'll apologize - publicly. But I've been in this university 6 years now and I'm not wrong, I'd be wrong if I don't say whats on many people's mind and mine honestly  .. 

http://gucian-voice.blogspot.com/2011/03/why-ashraf-mansour-should-go.html

Yours, 

Mohammed 

People, we're doing this to rise up with our University to its Fullest Potential. The University is not Ashraf Mansour, its not the Owners: The University is the People who pour their Hearts into making this a place of learning, its The Academics, its The Teachers, its The Students and Researchers who have higher stakes tied into it than collecting a bag of money, the ones who Educate and Learn, only for the sake of making themselves and their Country better. So please, participate, spread this, try to raise the awareness.

Why Ashraf Mansour Should Go

*Edit: for those unaware, this post has been sent directly to Dr. Ashraf Mansour and members of the Guc's  board of trustees and I pledged to post his reply if he wishes to issue one directly here, so far he did not respond*

Because there are places in the world where you go to University in order to be taught and cultivated. You are treated with respect because only then will you have dignity. You are expected to speak your mind because only then will you have character. You engage in shaping your Institution, because you are a part of it.

Not so in the Guc. In the Guc, you are expected to listen humbly because otherwise you'll be too much of a bother. You are expected to accept insult in humility because only then will you show proper respect to the vanity of those above you. You are expected to be lied to like an idiot, dragged from office to office for the simple cause of demanding what you've paid for -- what your parents have worked hard and toiled and sacrificed hard to provide for you: an Education.

You are expected to beg and plead, You are expected to applaud condescending treatment. Why? They'll provide many explanations, but the truth is, for the past 8 years since its founding; each and every policy in the Guc had not been introduced for the welfare of the Student, but rather, for the comfort and profiteering of its Upper Management.

I say Upper Management and I mean the Owners, because everyone knows the University President is in this reality powerless, the reigns of leadership belong to the office of Ashraf Mansour, prime founder and chairman of G.U.C.

Not that I would've minded Dr. Mansour's leadership, if it was as he always claims 'for the love of country, knowledge and people'. I wouldn't have minded it if I haven't, for the past 7 years, seen young talents wasted; Students who's only aim was to learn and achieve, to do something. Seen Young people setting out early on the path of their life, only to hit a blocked road. A road where they learn from unlearned teachers, where their work's worth would be lost just because of one stupid regulation or policy Dr. Mansour has laid down on a whim.

They'd fail courses their Professors would've let them pass, that they were worthy enough to pass, only because they were good students but they were sick and the University's Medical Office was not convinced and called their excuse a Lie. Because their grandparent has died the night before the examination, but that, to Ashraf Mansour, was not a reason good enough: His student's troubles are never good enough if gets them out of repeating costly courses or paying for make-up exams or gets them out of being delayed behind in their studies and enriching the university with repeated semester fees. If it wastes the opportunity for more Money, its not good enough. This place is not about Education.

In some other institutions a lecturer holding a doctorate, the highest degree in the land, would be in charge of Education But this is not about Education, people, remember that! In some other institutions, this lecturer would take a class of 20, 30 students under his care. Would Mentor them, engage them in discussion, inspire and encourage their intellectual curiosity.

Not in the Guc. the Brochure might say 'small class sizes' but those are the classes taught by the secondary TA's, Teaching Assistants, not the doctorate holder. Rather, this one finds himself in a packed hall with anywhere from 300 to 50 students to dispose of quickly before moving on to the second and third course, where more packed halls and more unhappy students await, all sitting there frustrated of the waste of effort and time, because They don't can't understand.

I say dispose because yes, thats what the reality is in the Guc. Its not our Academic Staff's fault, but those Staff are not superhuman, they're overloaded, overworked, they take many more students and courses than any other respectable institution of similar resources assigns to its teachers. They're given burdens more than they can take.

Its not right to demand a newly graduate BSc holder, to tackle on the responsibilities of teaching a university level course, grade it, examine it - without giving them any training whatsoever in any one of those aspects, without giving them the Time to be able to pull it off even if they wanted! without giving them the Rewards which they are privy to. Guc TAs earn about 2200 LE a month, did you know that? Less than some primary school teachers, or call-center tellers, or many other Less-qualified professions.

Which means simply that the Guc's aim is to attract Less-qualfied talent than Primary school teachers. That'd be a joke if it wasn't tragic. Many good TA's stay at the Guc, either because they're graduates of this university and Sentimentality holds them to it, or they feel it beneficial for them to have a University Teaching stint on their resumes. Even so, the University should not exploit them this way. Besides, they stay temporarily and go. 

Many great and loved Professors had came to the Guc and left during my stay, they all resigned. Why? Because Ashraf Mansour pushed them to. Ashraf Mansour  had Vision, Ashraf Mansour had good Management. All Guc students agree that they hate their University's Policies, their University's System, the rules imposed by the Smartest-IT-Center-On-The-Earth. The Academic Staff hates it. But Ashraf Mansour insists. Why should one man's profit hold a whole institution down? A generation-after-generation of well-wishing students, the many Academics who have come to this university to uphold the mission of Learning and he wouldn't let them. Why?

On March 11th, Guc Students voiced their demands to Dr. Ashraf Mansour, they waited for hours for the reply they've been promised a week before by Dr. Ashraf Mansour, after being left out in the Sun with not even the slightest courtesy of a response, remember, this is Dr. Ashraf Mansour we're talking about: He's higher than having to respond to anyone. 

They shouted and screamed asking to see him. He did not agree.

He went as far as promising to meet them in H15 if they leave the vicinity of his office. He did not go down. 

He promised to see their representatives. He did not. He promised again to go down for a second time! Guess what? He broke his word for the second time. Is this Children's Play 'Le3b 3eyal'? I don't know whether to laugh or cry. In my humble opinion, that's not conduct becoming any man in position, let alone a University Chairman.

So Mr. Chairman, please tell me: Why would a University Chairman who cowards out from even talking to his Students, serve as a Chairman? Why would a University Chairman who failed and failed for 8 years to gain the approval the students and the academic staff of his institution, stay as its Chairman? Why would a Man who does not respect his Students, their Professors, or their Teachers -- Your external relations Manager shouted down a student for not saying 'Dr' before mentioning your name because it was 'lack of respect' -- Mr. Chairman, why would you stay as Chairman, and keep your University and the people its built on down, if you don't Respect them at all? Why, Chairman?