Egypt’s education system set for major overhaul
Egyptians hope the new education reforms announced by the Ministry of Education will bring about major changes to address longstanding problems in public schools.
![An Egyptian woman walks with children in front of the Aziz Al Masri primary school on March 25, 2018 in central Cairo, ahead of the March 26-28 presidential election.
Egypt's military said on March 24 on Twitter that it was making "intensive preparations for the armed forces to secure the presidential election" on March 26-28, after a bombing killed two policemen in Alexandria. / AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by FETHI BELAID has been modified in](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_large/public/almpics/2018/05/GettyImages-937684852.jpg/GettyImages-937684852.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=syk9dan5 "AFP_1359NH")
Egypt’s Education Minister Tarek Shawki announced in April the implementation of new reforms to improve education in Egypt. The reforms, which are in part funded by the World Bank with a $500 million loan for five years, will cost a total of $2 billion and are expected to replace the existing education system with a new one to better equip Egyptian youth for the current job market.
Starting in September this year, the reforms will be implemented for kindergarten and primary school students, and for secondary students the following academic year.
“September 2018 marks the start of the journey to make our students ready for life, and we are pleased to have this partnership with the World Bank to accompany us on that journey. Our goal is to provide our children with the competencies they need to create a society that learns, thinks and innovates,” said Shawki in his statement to the World Bank in April.
The reforms include introducing a new curriculum that focuses on character building and critical thinking skills, improving teachers’ working conditions and development through training and workshops, changing secondary assessment systems and introducing electronic learning platforms, such as tablets, to students and teachers.
