Ain Shams University to Give Out 250 EGP Awards for Students Who Help the Illiterate

The Faculty of Commerce at Ain Shams University (ASU) is giving out a 250 EGP award for students each time they teach a person literacy. Interestingly, there’s no ceiling to the number of potential awards, meaning the more people the student teaches, the more money they can make. If students weren't already motivated to contribute to this immensely important and worthy cause, then this incentive has the potential to turn some heads. And let's be honest, there are a lot worse jobs and internships that university students could be taking instead.

This incentive is a new addition to ASU's already established system, which mandates each student to teach at least four people how to read or write as a prerequisite for graduation. The initiative has made strides in cementing the sense of community service that should be a pivotal component of higher education. ASU will be hosting a symposium next Monday to further discuss this initiative, as well as the roles of Egyptian higher education institutions in combating illiteracy on a nationwide level.

Programmes to encourage students to spread literacy have become pretty popular across Egypt, with Sohag University and University of Zagazig having adopted similar measures last year.