Many families in Tunisia take great pride in being able to send their children to university in France. Already the recent fall in the value of the dinar has made it harder for Tunisians to afford to study in French establishments. Now plans by the French authorities to increase tuition fees for students coming from non-EU countries threatens to shatter the dreams of many Tunisians hoping to study in France. Lilia Blaise reports.
“There's nothing really we can do about this French government announcement but it's starting to get difficult,” says Nouhed Melaouah. A Tunisian who works as an executive for an airline, she has two daughters whom she is keen to see study in France. The eldest has in fact just left to do a masters in France having got her first degree in Tunisia, while her other daughter will soon be taking her baccalauréatexaminations – the equivalent to A levels in Britain - and then heading for France for her degree. But the French government's recent announcement of a massive rise in tuition fees for students from non-European Union countries will make Nouhed Melaouah's plans for her daughters even harder.
