Hada News
Syria sets maximum credit-hour fees at private universities, from SYP 4,000 to SYP 13,000
The Higher Education Council's ceilings, agreed on Sunday 18 October 2026, cover Syrian students only; several private universities had announced higher hourly rates for medicine and pharmacy before the decision.
Families paying private-university tuition in Syria now have an official upper limit per credit hour. At its opening session of the 2026-2027 academic year on Sunday 18 October, the Higher Education Council, chaired by Higher Education Minister Marwan al-Halabi, approved a ceiling for each field of study, according to the state agency SANA.
**The caps, per credit hour (Syrian pounds):** human medicine 13,000; dentistry 12,000; pharmacy 11,000; engineering 9,000; all other specialisations 6,000; institutes 4,000.
The ministry says these are maxima: a university may set a lower rate, but not a higher one. The limits apply to Syrians and to students treated as Syrians. Students enrolled through the separate admission track for Arab and foreign nationals are outside the scheme. The council acted after hearing remarks from the higher-education committee of the People's Assembly.
**How far below current prices?** Al Jazeera Net compared the ceilings with rates some universities published at the start of this semester. Al-Hawash and the Syrian Private University had each listed 18,000 an hour for medicine and 14,000 for pharmacy; Kalamoon had posted 18,300 for medicine. By Al Jazeera's own calculation, the new caps cut hourly medicine fees by about 28% on average and engineering by roughly 14%.
**Returning students.** The council also ruled on students coming back under Presidential Decree 180 of 2026, issued on 4 October, which grants an exceptional 2026-2027 year to undergraduates who had used up their permitted failures. They will pay 2025-2026 fees, with no increase, at public and private universities alike.
Neither SANA nor Al Jazeera states from which billing date the ceilings take effect.
**Why it matters:** Syria has more than twenty accredited private universities, per Al Jazeera, and hourly fees drive the bill for every semester.