Egypt

Cairo is one of Africa’s deepest school markets. The International Schools Database lists 108 international schools in the capital, 33 of them IB schools; a 2026 consultancy analysis puts the whole of Egypt at about 105 with fees of EGP 150,000-950,000. The sources disagree and no official count exists — which tells you something about the market’s transparency. ↗ ↗

There is no public inspection regime. Unlike Dubai’s KHDA or Abu Dhabi’s ADEK, Egypt publishes no school ratings for international schools. Verification runs through accreditation instead: COBIS membership and British Schools Overseas inspection for British schools, the AEFE network for French schools, Middle States for American schools, and embassy school lists. Our Cairo guide teaches these routes school by school.

Demand is overwhelmingly domestic. The premium schools serve Egyptian professional families first and the diplomatic, NGO and corporate-expat communities second — which is why the Ministry’s fee politics matter here in a way they do not in purely expat markets.

All school fees must be billed in Egyptian pounds. By ministerial decision, private and international schools collect tuition — and even international certificate validation and examination charges — in EGP only, with violations referable under the Central Bank Law. Schools that “think in dollars” must convert to a published EGP figure. ↗

Fee increases are capped in tiers. Since September 2023, schools charging EGP 100,000 or more may raise fees no more than 6 per cent a year (lower-priced schools get up to 25 per cent); the caps held through 2025-26 for a third consecutive year with above-cap requests rejected. Caps are re-set annually — the 2026-27 tier rates were not confirmed when this page was researched. The Ministry has also capped bus fees at operating cost plus 10 per cent and barred mandatory designated-vendor uniforms. ↗

Then the currency moved. The pound floated fully in March 2024, falling from about EGP 31 to about EGP 50 per dollar within days — a devaluation of over 60 per cent — after stepped losses since March 2022. It traded around EGP 47.6 in late November 2025. The trap cuts both ways: a family earning dollars saw premium tuition roughly halve in USD terms, while schools carrying USD-denominated costs (expat teachers, IB fees, devices) were squeezed between the devaluation and the 6 per cent cap. Expect pressure on fees — and on staffing — every time the rate moves. ↗ ↗

• Cairo American College (2024/25): Pre-K3 USD 9,000, KG USD 14,000 (EGP 675,193), Grade 5 USD 26,100 (EGP 1,258,938), books and activities included; bus USD 1,000-1,800. Reported 2025-26 bands: EGP 650,000-1,100,000. The official fee page is JavaScript-gated — ask the school for the current table. ↗
• British International School, Cairo (2025/26): EGP 439,449 (KG1) to EGP 1,148,934 (Year 12), plus a one-time supply fee of EGP 171,125. ↗
• New Cairo British International School(2026/27): EGP 544,925 (KG1) to EGP 998,106 (Year 12) — plus a one-time registration fee of EGP 506,310, a registration charge larger than many schools’ annual tuition. ↗
• Lycée Français du Caire (AEFE, 2026/27, French citizens): EGP 265,069 (primary) to EGP 445,781 (lycée), plus EGP 79,029 registration — the verified value tier among the capital’s established schools. ↗

Aggregator figures here are graded medium confidence; several Egyptian schools publish no English-language schedule at all. The dossier records what we could not verify — including Malvern College Egypt’s current fees, where published numbers look pre-devaluation.

Egypt’s premium tier splits four ways. British schools (BISC, NCBIS, Malvern College Egypt) run IGCSE with IB or A Levels after; American schools (CAC, Hayah, the Schutz tradition in Alexandria) run US diplomas, often with the IB Diploma alongside; and the AEFE network — the Lycée Français du Caire chief among them — offers the French bac at state-subsidised-network prices that routinely undercut the English-medium market by half or more.

The practical filter is accreditation, not curriculum brand: COBIS or BSO for British claims, AEFE for French, MSA or similar for American. In a market with no public inspection data, the accreditor’s report is the closest thing to a rating that exists. Our curriculum guide covers the portability trade-offs.

Alexandria is a separate market, 220 km away. Schutz American School — one of the oldest American schools in the region — was reported at EGP 600,000-750,000 (primary) and EGP 750,000-950,000 (secondary) for 2025-26 (single aggregator source; treat as reported, not verified). Families posted to Alex should not assume Cairo commutes are viable — they are not. ↗

The New Administrative Capital is the growth story. The R3 residential district already hosts operating schools — the International School of Choueifat (SABIS), Sahara International (British/Cambridge), Cadmos International and others — and CADMUS NAC is the SABIS network’s first CADMUS-branded school in Egypt. Fees and accreditation status in the NAC are not yet verified first-party; if you are considering the move east, ask for the same documents you would demand in Maadi. ↗ ↗

Every figure above traces to our research dossier. Primary sources: Andersen Egypt’s legal analysis of the EGP-only rule, EnterpriseAM on the Ministry’s fee caps, and FX reporting on the 2024 float. School fees come from aggregators (Egypt International Schools, International Schools Database) graded medium confidence — Egypt’s first-party fee pages are often JavaScript-gated, and we say so where that blocked verification.

Fees and policies expire. This page was researched on 2 September 2026 and is re-verified each academic year — see our research standard, browse the school directory as profiles open, and use corrections if you spot something stale.