A Seventh-day Adventist school in Heliopolis, Egypt is one step closer to gaining the government recognition it needs for its graduates to compete for places in Egyptian universities. A representative from the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA), the agency that handles all requests for American accreditation in the Middle East, visited Nile Union Academy (NUA) last month and will recommend its acceptance for CITA accreditation.

“This is a major achievement for an Adventist academy in a Muslim country,” says Humberto Rasi, director of Education for the Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide.  “This is a milestone for the school, which is the largest Adventist institution in Egypt.”     

The Egyptian government recognizes and will grant official status to any school that is accepted by CITA.  For many years, NUA has been attempting to gain government recognition.

“When students graduate, they want to be able to enter any university in Egypt or elsewhere,” Rose explains, “but if their documents are not stamped by the Egyptian Ministry of Education, they usually cannot.  They are also unable to obtain an ID card or get army postponement. Therefore, government recognition of NUA is essential.” 

“It is our hope that we will be able to announce full government recognition before this school year ends,” says Dwight Rose, NUA principal. “God has performed a miracle at NUA and we give Him all the praise.”