Thursday, February 2, 2012

Grace C. Lapinig: Egypt Educational System

All levels of education are tuition-free at all government schools and institutions in Egypt. However, the educational system is poor and needs overhauling. The Egyptian government spends about 3.5% of GDP on education, which is low by international standards. Underfunding is one culprit behind underdeveloped education infrastructure. Curriculum reform and more motivated teachers are also essential. However, as a forthcoming paper by Djavad Salehi-Isfahani and Navtej Dhillon argues, improving the education system requires not only more resources but also demands reforming the existing institutions that provide the incentives and signals to guide the choices of parents and students in what to learn. Two main institutional features common to most countries in the Middle East call for particular attention in this regard: the dominant role of the public sector in providing and rewarding education (through employment), and the heavy reliance on testing in grade promotion and university admissions, which encourage rote learning.

Current educational philosophy in Egypt is the product of three cultural heritages: British, secular (westernized) Egyptian, and Islamic (traditional) Egyptian. The British protectorate in Egypt left an exclusionary, state-controlled education system structured to serve elite (British) interests with little concern for the masses. The heritage was one of restricted opportunity, unenforced limited education (generally of poor quality), and higher education reserved mostly for the elite. Egyptians and non-English foreigners were left few options but to expand private and religious education.

Education is highly valued in Egypt and for children between the ages of six and fifteen education in Egypt is free and compulsory. There is still quite a high drop out rate unfortunately, due in part to levels of poverty, and adult literacy levels in Egypt are only around 57.7%. The education system is divided into either the State System or the Azharite Religious System. Schools in the former system and private schools fall under the administration and supervision of the Ministry of Education and schools in the Azharite Religious System are supervised directly by the Egyptian Prime Minister.

The public education system consists of three stages: the basic education stage for 4- to 14-year-olds (kindergarten for two years followed by primary school for five years and preparatory school for three years); the secondary school stage for three years, generally for ages 14 to 17; and the tertiary (university) stage. All preschool institutions, whether state run or privately operated, are under the Ministry of Education, educationally, technically, and administratively. The Ministry selects and distributes textbooks; the use of any additional textbooks is forbidden. Guidelines state that each class is to have two teachers and a helper in addition to a music teacher. The maximum class size is 45 students. No child less than 4-years-old is allowed in state preschool classes or schools. The private sector can accept children younger than 4, but not less than 3 years and 9 months.

The value of education in Egypt is highly prized, but while there exists such a huge discrepancy between the standards of living, amenities and facilities available to those from wealthy and poor and city and rural backgrounds there will continue to exist a barrier between those who can afford to send their children to school and those who don’t even have access to teaching staff or learning materials. Egyptian parents all want the very best for their children but not all can afford to send them to school. This is just another reason why many expatriates choose to take jobs in Egypt working for non-governmental aid and support agencies or who volunteer for a few years to teach students in impoverished or remote areas.

Comparing the educational system in Egypt with the Philippines, both educational systems are quite similar in terms of quality in instruction, infrastructures and graduates. What made the difference, may be in Egypt underfunding in Education is one of the reasons behind. While in the Philippines, there is a big funding for education that is allotted by the government. May be the problem lies in corruption, ill-political system and weak educational leaders that slower the attainment of educational reforms for quality education services.




References:

Egypt - Educational System—overview - Schools, Students, Percent, and Secondary - StateUniversity.com
http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/411/Egypt-EDUCATIONAL-SYSTEM-OVERVIEW.html#ixzz1lAY0iTjK
http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2008/1001_egypt_education_dhillon.aspx
http://www.all-about-egypt.com/education-in-egypt.html

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