Upper Egypt is one of the country's least developed regions. A critical factor hindering its development is the lack of quality education, most notably at the undergraduate level. Well-to-do Upper Egyptians travel to Cairo and Alexandria for college, but the vast majority of their less affluent counterparts either drop out or attend the overcrowded public universities of Upper Egypt that are ill-equipped to effectively prepare them for post-university employment.
The public universities of Upper Egypt are inadequate in several respects. First, there is an issue of faculty quality. Many faculty members have little, if any, up-to-date graduate level training. This limits the level of knowledge passed on to students and restricts the students’ ability to access existing knowledge. Second, students are exposed to a variety of excruciating factors. Severely overcrowded classes, inadequate libraries and laboratory facilities, and distracting studying conditions are the norm. Infrastructure limitations frequently cause students to study subjects that offer limited job opportunities and lead to educated unemployment.
Deraya's mission will be to address these issues by providing a more enlightened avenue of higher education to Upper Egyptians, emphasizing active intellectual engagement, participation, and discovery, all within a world class academic environment conducive to such learning.