Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

1854 One Hundred Years in Egypt 1954
"Assuit College Its Past, Present, and Future" By Dr. Walter J. Skellie, President
In UNITED PRESBYTERIAN
(Condensed)
As the Mission in Egypt celebrates its centen
nial year we would recall the large and important
place occupied by Assiut college, which for 91 of
those 100 years has witnessed in the name and spirit
of the Master Teacher to the people of Upper Egypt.
After two attempts by the Mission to open edu
cational work in Assiut in 1860 and 1863 had failed,
the school which has developed into Assiut college
was opened March 13, 1865, by Dr. John Hogg. His
purpose was to train Christian leaders for the evan
gelization of Egypt. Church and school were very
closely associated in the mind of this gifted and de
voted missionary who was used by God in the estab
lishing of numerous congregations and schools as he
worked out from the Assiut center. The service of
the college to the church has always been foremost
in all its endeavors, and the Protestant church in
Egypt is what it is today largely because of the in
fluence of the college, both on individuals and on the
Christian culture of the country.
Assiut college was born, as was the Master it
serves, in a stable. A room on the first floor of a
native house which had long been used for animals
was rented and cleaned up for the beginning of a
small day school. This school soon secured more ade
quate quarters and passed through the stages of a
small boarding school,
an academy, and a college
with a theological seminary as a part of its work un
til the seminary was later moved to Cairo. The
strong character of Dr. Hogg, the founder, was built
into the very life of the school.
Capable Egyptians Cooperate
Loyal and capable Egyptian teachers have al
ways played an important role in the work of the
college, and their devoted service means much to it.
Since 1936 three Egyptians have been members of
the administrative faculty, and some of these men
now serve on every faculty committee, sharing in all
our planning. We are glad to have our Egyptian
brethren assume these increased responsibilities, and
we feel that the college is the richer because they
are doing so. We are particularly grateful for the
services of Egyptians who have had the opportunity
of advanced study in America. Rev. Tawfik Salih was
a tower of strength on our staff for many years .un
til he was called to full-time work as resident pro
fessor in the Seminary in Cairo. Rev. Badie Ibrahim,
Rev. Fayez Fares, and Mr. Latif Tawfik Ghobrial
have all recently secured Masters' degrees in Ameri
ca and returned to Egypt to serve with us. Their
knowledge of and acquaintance in the church in
America are a great asset in this service.
Plans are nearly
completed for the establish
ment of a board of trustees for the college which will
include representatives of the Synod of the Nile, the
Alumni association, and the Assiut Christian com
munity. We welcome this step forward, and believe
that it will enable the church in Egypt to feel more
definitely that the college is theirs, and not a foreign
institution in their midst. We do not anticipate that
this new organization will contribute largely to the
8
support of the college for a few years at least. Eco
nomic conditions in Egypt today and new economic
legislation make it difficult for many to give much to
such causes, but we have hope and faith to believe
that Egyptians will assume increasing responsibility
for every phase of the school's life and work.
The Institution Described
Now just what is Assiut college It is a mission
school of 850 students and a staff of 50. It has pri
mary, preparatory, and secondary departments and
prepares students for Egyptian Government exam
preministerial
students. We have excellent grounds and
inations, as well as giving a special course for
buildings and equipment. Our classroom teaching as
well as our promotional examinations are subject
to inspection by men from the Ministry of Education,
and these inspectors are unanimous in their high
praise for the school and its work. Our boarding de
partment cares for about 300 of our students. It is
a place where parents from areas where adequate
schools are not available can send their sons with the
assurance that they will be well looked after, and
where they will be trained in a cultured Christian
atmosphere.
The religious life of the college is of primary im
portance. Regular religion classes and chapel exer
cises are a part of the program for all Christian stu
dents. Muslim students, who number about 15 per
cent of the total, are not allowed by law to share in
these exercises but they spend the class time in the
library. The college has an active YMCA organiza
tion, a CE for the boys in the preparatory depart
ment, Sabbath school for all the boarding students,
and regular Sabbath preaching services in which the
staff and girls from the Pressly Memorial institute
join with us. It is a thrill to speak to that fine au
dience of young Egyptian Christians. The Volunteer
band carries on services in quite a group of villages
which would not otherwise be reached with preach
ing
services. Each year Religious Emphasis week is
observed, personal work is done with students, com
municants classes are held, and a fine group of stu
dents unite with the church on profession of their
faith. In short we can sum up the religious influence
of the college by saying that it is a stronghold of
Protestant Christianity, a leavening influence in a
non-Christian land, a center of evangelism, and a
training school for Christian workers.
Future Faced In Faith
The future of Assiut college, from the human
standpoint, depends upon a number of factors.
Among these is the attitude which the Egyptian gov
ernment will take toward private schools in general
and mission and church schools in particular. We
have many reasons to believe that this attitude will
be favorable on the whole. Another factor is that of
Egyptian support. We cannot expect a great deal of
material support from the Egyptian church for some
time, but we believe that it will increase. The moral
support of the church and of the community is as-
COVENANTER WITNESS