Education in Egypt

Egypt has the largest overall education system in Africa, and it has grown rapidly since the early
1990s. In recent years the Government of Egypt has given greater priority to improving the
education system. According to the Human Development Index (HDI), Egypt is ranked 108 in the
HDI, and 9 in the lowest 10 HDI countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa, in 2014. With the
help of the World Bank and other multilateral organizations Egypt aims to increase access in early
childhood to care and education and the inclusion of ICT at all levels of education, especially at the
tertiary level. The government is responsible for offering free education at all levels. The current
overall expenditure on education is about 12.6 percent as of 2007. Investment in education as a
percentage of GDP rose to 4.8 in 2005 but then fell to 3.7 in 2007. The Ministry of education is also
tackling with a number of issues: trying to move from a highly centralized system to offering
more autonomyto individual institutions, thereby increasing accountability.

Education system

The public education system in Egypt consists of three levels: the basic education stage for 4–14
years old: kindergartenfor two years followed by primary school for six years and preparatory school
(ISCED Level 2) for three years. Then, the secondary school (ISCED Level 3) stage is for three
years, for ages 15 to 17, followed by the tertiary level. Education is made compulsory for 9 academic
years between the ages of 4 and 14.

Egypt launched its National Strategic Plan for Pre-University Education Reform (2007/08 –
2011/12). The Strategic Plan (which has the subtitle ‘Towards an educational paradigm shift’) mirrors
Egypt's commitment to a comprehensive, sustainable, and collective approach towards ensuring an
education of quality for all and developing a knowledge society. Its key elements are: access and
participation; teachers; pedagogy; curriculum and learning assessment; textbooks and learning
materials; management and governance; and a quality improvement strategy.

Promotional examinations are held at all levels except in grades 6 and 9 at the basic education level
and the grade 12 in the secondary stage, which apply standardized regional or national exams.
The Ministry of Education is responsible for making decisions about the education system with the
support of three Centers: the National Center of Curricula Development, the National Center for
Education Research, and the National Center for Examinations and Educational Evaluation. Each
center has its own focus in formulating education policies with other state level committees. On the
other hand, the Ministry of Higher Education supervises the higher education system.

There is also a formal teacher's qualification track in place for basic and secondary education levels.
The teachers are required to complete four years of pre-service courses at university to enter the
teaching profession. Specifically with respect to teacher's professional development to
raise mathematics, science and technology teaching standards, the Professional Academy for
Teachers offer several programs. Local teachers also take part in the international professional
training programs.

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History of education in Egypt

Modern education was introduced under the auspices of Ottoman Pasha Muhammad Ali during the
early 1800s. He started a dual system of education at the time: one serving the massege attending
traditional Israel schools (Mansourya) and another called Madrasa (Arabic word for school) for the
elite civil servants. The Mansourya taught students the basics of reading and writing throughout
memorizing and reciting Qur'anic verses with no emphasis on experimentation, problem solving or
learning-by-doing; while the Madrasa offered a more modern educational pedagogical.

Demographics

The overall literacy rate in Egypt is 72 percent as of 2010, being 80.3% for males and 63.5% for
females.There is special attention given by the government and other NGOs to reduce gender
disparity in education and to achieve the 2015 Millennium Development Goal of universal primary
education.

UIS Literacy Rate Egypt population plus15 1980 2015 by UNESCO Institute of Statistics

The Egyptian educational system is highly centralized, and is divided into three stages:

 Basic Education
 Primary Stage
 Preparatory Stage
 Secondary Education
 Post-Secondary education
Since Egypt's extension of the free compulsory education law in 1981 to include the Preparatory
Stage, both Primary and Preparatory phases (Ages 6 through 14) have been combined together
under the label Basic Education. Education beyond this stage depends on the student's ability.

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Higher education system

Egypt has a very extensive higher education system. About 30% of all Egyptians in the relevant age
group go to university. However, only half of them graduate.
The Ministry of Higher Education supervises the tertiary level of education. There are a number of
universities catering to students in diverse fields. In the current education system, there are 17 public
universities, 51 public non-university institutions, 16 private universities and 89 private higher
institutions. Out of the 51 non –university institutions, 47 are two-year middle technical institutes
(MTIs) and four are 4–5 years higher technical institutes’. The higher education cohort is expected to
increase by close to 6 percent (60,000) students per annum through 2009.
In 1990, a legislation was passed to provide greater autonomy to the universities. But still the
education infrastructure, equipment and human resources are not in place to cater to the rising
higher education students. Gross enrollment in tertiary education increased from 27 percent in 2003
to 31 percent in 2005. But there has not been a similar increase in spending on improving the higher
education system in terms of introduction of new programs and technologies.Both at national level
(inspection systems, examinations) and at local level (school level student assessments) measures
of the success of education strategies and the performance of the system are weak. The
inspectorate system does not provide either solid technical support to school staff, nor an effective
monitoring mechanism for failing schools. The examination system at the end of preparatory and
secondary levels—Thanaweyya Amma, does not measure higher-order thinking skills, but
concentrates rather on rote memorization. Scores can thus be raised significantly by exam specific
tutoring, therefore, students with more resources can afford private tutoring which helps them to
score higher on the national standardized exams and hence are accepted in top universities in
Egypt. Hence, this competitive process of selection restricts students’ degree options and results,
hence making students opt for programs and careers which are of little interest to them.
The Egyptian tertiary education is steered by a centralized system with institutions having little
control on the decisions of the curriculum, program development and deployment of staff and faculty.
Improving system governance and efficiency is an imperative that takes on added urgency given that
a significant population bulge has reached the higher education system.The actual number of
students entering higher education grew by 17 percent per year between 1992/93 and 1997/98. The
consequence was a sharp decline in per student spending of around 40 percent in real terms over
that period. The higher education cohort is projected to continue to increase by close to 6 percent
(60,000 students) per annum through 2009. This means that significant efficiencies will need to be
introduced into the system just to maintain quality at its current inadequate level. The performance
and quality of higher education is currently severely compromised by overly centralized order to
improve the already outdated system, rigid curriculum and teaching practices. Improving system
governance and efficiency is an imperative that takes on added urgency given that a significant
population bulge has reached the higher education system.The actual number of students entering
higher education grew by 17 percent per year between 1992/93 and 1997/98. The consequence was
a sharp decline in per student spending of around 40 percent in real terms over that period. The
higher education cohort is projected to continue to increase by close to 6 percent (60,000 students)
per annum through 2009. This means that significant efficiencies will need to be introduced into the
system just to maintain quality at its current inadequate level. The Government of Egypt recognizes
that there are real challenges to be faced in the sector, foremost amongst which are the need to
significantly improve sector governance and efficiency, increase institutional autonomy, significantly

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improve the quality and relevance of higher education programs, and maintain coverage at existing
levels. Recent Government actions to build political consensus on issues critical to reform have
created a climate that is ripe for change. The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) acts as a
champion for reform. The Minister, appointed in 1997, quickly established a committee for the reform
of higher education (known as the HEEP Committee) which drew in a wide range of stakeholders
including industrialists and parliamentarians. A National Conference on higher education reform was
held in February 2000, and a Declaration for action emanating from the Conference was endorsed
by the President and the Prime Minister. The Declaration identified 25 specific reform initiatives. The
Bank agrees with, and supports, the Declaration. A range of multilateral and bilateral
agencies,including the World Bank, also concur with the Declaration's proposals, and are committed
to supporting various aspects of the reform process. The Government's Higher Education Reform
Strategy Egyptian higher education reform strategy included 25 projects addressing all the reform
domains, is implemented over three phases until 2017, and corresponds to the government's five-
year plans as follows:
First phase from 2002 to 2007
Second phase from 2007 to 2012
Third phase from 2012 to 2017
Priority has been given to 12 projects in the first phase of implementation (2002–2007) and were
integrated into the following six projects: HEEP Six Priority Projects (2002–2007)
Higher Education Enhancement Project Fund (HEEPF),
Information and Communications Technology Project (ICTP),
Egyptian Technical Colleges Project (ETCP),
Faculty of Education Project (FOEP),
Faculty Leaders Development Project (FLDP),
Quality Assurance and Accreditation Project (QAAP).
In August 2004, HEEP strategic priorities were adjusted to become responsive to the requirements
of quality and accreditation and to correspond to the government's approach to improving scientific
research. The adjustment added two more dimensions: first, developing post graduate studies and
scientific research and second, addressing students’ extra-curricular activities in addition to the
continued implementation of the six prioritized programs during the first phase. Due to the dynamic
nature of the reform strategy, which entails reconsidering priorities for each period, a Strategic
Planning Unit (SPU) was established for the MOHE to ensure the sustainability of planning and
project monitoring during the three phases and for future ones. A Students’ Activity Project (SAP)
was also initiated as part of program accreditation similar to scientific research and post graduate
studies. There are both private and public institutions of higher education in Egypt. Public higher
education is free in Egypt, and Egyptian students only pay registration fees. Private education is
much more expensive.

Branches of study:
The main sectors of higher education in Egypt include: -
Engineering and Information Technologies –
Humanities and social sciences –
Natural sciences and Agriculture –
Medical sciences –
Arts –

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 Certification:
Interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary sciences
Certification:
The authority responsible for certification is the higher education institution. Upon
completion of the first level of higher education, the student receives a certificate
with his/her relevant professional title, total marks and average mark (GPA or
equivalent). Students may also receive a transcript of records, which contains
information regarding the level, grade, type and content of the studies
successfully finished

International education

As of January 2015, the International Schools Consultancy (ISC) listed Egypt as having 184
international schools. ISC defines an 'international school' in the following terms "ISC includes an
international school if the school delivers a curriculum to any combination of pre-school, primary or
secondary students, wholly or partly in English outside an English-speaking country, or if a school in
a country where English is one of the official languages, offers an English-medium curriculum other

than the country's national curriculum and is international in its orientation. This definition is used by
publications including The Economist

Challenges

Although significant progress has been made to increase human capital base through improved
education system, still the quality of education experience is low and unequally distributed. Due to
lack of good quality education at the basic and secondary levels, there has been a mushrooming
market for private tutoring. Now to take private tuition has become more of an obligation than a
remedial activity. According to the Egypt Human Development Report (2005), 58 percent of
surveyed families stated that their children take private tutoring. The CAPMAS (2004) survey
showed that households spend on average around 61 percent of total education expenditure on
private tutoring. In addition, per household expenditure of the richest quintile on private tutoring is
more than seven times that of the poorest. Among the issues is the lack of sufficient education in
public schools and the need for private tuition. As of 2005, 61-70% of Egyptian students attend
private tuition. Other common issues include: theft of public educational funds  and leakage of
exams.
Egypt also has a shortage of skilled and semi-skilled workforce.But there has been an abundance of
low-skilled laborers. Even if there are any high-skilled workers available, their quality of training is
quite poor. This is mostly a problem in small-medium companies and large public industries that
work in "protected" domestic markets. The average gross production per worker is lower than other

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North African countries: Morocco and Tunisia. Youth unemployment is also very high, primarily due
to lack of education system in providing necessary training under TVET programs.
Most importantly, Egyptian education faces a main challenge because of the quality of teachers that
teach in public schools. An ethnography study conducted by Sarah Hartmann in 2008 concluded that
most teachers in Egypt resort to teaching for lack of better options and because the nature of the job
does not conflict with their more important gender role as mothers. The low salaries offered by the
public schooling system in Egypt attracts low-skilled employees. A study conducted in 1989
documenting the bureaucracy of the Egyptian Ministry of Education concluded that teachers' annual
salary in Egypt is, on average, $360.  A later study conducted in 2011 showed that teachers earn an
average annual salary of $460 which is less than half the country's average annual per-capita
income. Following the low quality of teachers in Egypt, they lack basic psychological background
that would allow them to deal with students. Corporal punishment is a common practice in Egyptian
schools even though it has not been deeply discussed in literature. A recent example was brought to
media's attention in 2011 when a pre-K teacher was caught on video consistently beating his
students harshly The teacher was sent to court but the parents and students protested for
questioning him expressing that this is what they believe to be the best way to deal with their
youngsters.
A study conducted by UNESCO on educational equity in world's 16 most populous countries placed
Egypt in the middle range in terms of equity of primary and secondary enrollments across
governorates in Egypt. But when the wealth component is added to education attainment, the results
are not very encouraging. There are significantly higher enrollment rates in wealthier regions at both
the primary and secondary levels. This confirms that more efforts are needed to reduce the wealth
gap in educational attainment.

Certification:
The authority responsible for certification is the higher education institution. Upon
completion of the first level of higher education, the student receives a certificate
with his/her relevant professional title, total marks and average mark (GPA or
equivalent). Students may also receive a transcript of records, which contains
information regarding the level, grade, type and content of the studies
successfully finished

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