The Ministry of Education launches the first community dialogue sessions on the proposed Egyptian Baccalaureate
The Ministry of Education and Technical Education launched today the first community dialogue sessions on the proposed Egyptian Baccalaureate certificate system, with experts and specialists in the field of education, in the presence of Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population, Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education.
The meeting was attended by a group of former ministers, university presidents, and experts in the pre-university education file, in addition to the presence of representatives of Al-Azhar Sheikhdom and the Church.
At the beginning of his speech, Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population, expressed his gratitude for the invitation extended to him to attend the community dialogue session, noting the importance of discussing the proposal for the Egyptian Baccalaureate system, which is one of the vital files that affect national security.
He explained that this topic intersects with the tasks of the Human Development Group, as it is closely linked to the development of education, which includes several aspects, such as updating curricula and scientific content.
The Deputy Prime Minister continued to emphasize that developing education is an integrated process that includes all stakeholders, starting from pre-university education to post-university education, with the need to link this process to the requirements of the labor market, noting the importance of continuous dialogue and listening to all opinions, stressing that national consensus among all stakeholders on the proposal is the basis for success.
He added that after the end of the community dialogue sessions, the proposal will be submitted to the Ministerial Group for Human Development, to be presented later to the Council of Ministers, concluding his speech by pointing out the importance of discussing all the proposed proposals, because the future of Egypt's students necessarily reflects the future of the nation.
For his part, Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education, stressed the importance of holding a community dialogue to exchange ideas and visions regarding the implementation of the new baccalaureate certificate system, pointing to the need for integration between the Ministries of Higher Education and Education in order to qualify students to be able to meet the needs of the labor market.
The Minister of Higher Education explained that the Egyptian Baccalaureate system and the foundation year represent a shared vision for developing educational paths, pointing out that the education system focuses on developing the skills required in the labor market and improving the outcomes of pre-university education, which contributes to strengthening and developing the university education system.
Dr. Ayman Ashour highlighted the educational paths in the university system in line with the requirements of the current and future labor market, while presenting the most prominent modern interdisciplinary specializations and study programs offered by universities, with the aim of improving the skills and competencies of students to enable them to meet the needs of future jobs.
The Minister of Higher Education indicated that there are 4 main paths that a student can join in universities, which are: (the field of life sciences and medicine, the field of natural sciences, engineering and technology, the field of social sciences and business administration, the field of arts and humanities), explaining that the study programs are being developed according to the latest educational systems to meet students in line with achieving the requirements of the labor market.
For his part, Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif thanked the attendees, including ministers, university presidents, and experts in the pre-university education file, stressing the importance of these meetings to listen to different visions on the details of the Egyptian Baccalaureate proposal, and the participation of all concerned parties in bringing about a qualitative shift in Egyptian education.
The Minister of Education reviewed the reasons for presenting the proposal for the "Egyptian Baccalaureate" certificate system at the present time, which comes within the framework of the ministry's keenness to address the challenges and shortcomings of the old system, stressing that changing the system has become an inevitable necessity, as there were multiple problems in the old system, which represented a great burden on students, due to the large number of subjects that the student studies, as well as the one-chance exam that draws the student's future and may impose on him a college or profession that he did not have the passion to join.
Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif pointed out that the first strategic goal of the Egyptian Baccalaureate system proposal is to open the way for the student by providing multiple opportunities so that he has several choices and paths that prepare him for the life and profession he desires in the labor market.
The Minister of Education noted that the goal of taking an initial measure to reduce the number of subjects required for secondary school students is to avoid leaving 3 million students who will join secondary school suffering from studying 32 subjects, which is not implemented in any other country, adding that this number of subjects would have resulted in teachers being unable to finish teaching the required subjects, so this urgent measure was taken so that a complete vision of a new proposal would be presented for community dialogue, and if accepted, the law would be changed and approved by the House of Representatives, stressing that the goal is to simplify the general secondary stage, and remove the psychological pressure on students and the burden of this stage from the shoulders of parents. The Minister pointed out that the proposal for the Egyptian Baccalaureate certificate, with its details, came after plans were developed, studied and reviewed by experts and members of the National Council for Educational Research, and professors of faculties of education, in addition to intensive sessions held to study this matter with the Supreme Council of Universities.
The Minister also stressed that the Ministry is open to receiving all opinions and suggestions that contribute to improving this new system before the actual implementation begins; to reach the best plan that suits our students at this stage, in coordination with the Ministry of Higher Education in order to complete their university studies and develop their skills that are compatible with the requirements of the labor market in the twenty-first century.
Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif touched on reviewing the plan for the new system, which includes dividing the secondary stage into a preparatory stage, which is the first secondary grade, and a main stage, which is (the second and third grades) together, in which 7 subjects will be studied between the second secondary grade and the third secondary grade, and includes four branches, which are the "Medicine and Life Sciences" branch, the "Engineering and Computer Sciences" branch, the "Business" branch, and the "Humanities" branch, stressing that four main subjects will be studied for all students of these branches and all tracks, which are (Arabic language, Egyptian history, the first foreign language, and religious education).
The minister continued, saying: "If the student's inclinations are towards studying "medical sciences", two basic subjects will be studied, namely (high-level biology and high-level chemistry), in addition to choosing a subject from (mathematics or physics). However, if the student's inclinations are towards studying "engineering and computer science", the subjects (high-level mathematics and high-level physics) will be studied, in addition to choosing a subject from (chemistry or programming). However, if his inclinations are towards studying "business administration", two basic subjects (high-level economics and mathematics) will be studied, in addition to choosing a subject from (accounting or business administration). In the event that the student's inclinations are towards studying "literature and arts", the subjects (high-level geography and statistics) will be studied, in addition to choosing a subject from (psychology or a second foreign language).
Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif added that the exams will be available in two opportunities in each academic year, one in May and July for the subjects of the second secondary grade, and the other in June and August for the subjects of the third secondary grade.
The minister confirmed that we are completing the education development plan Which started in 2018, stressing that the main goal of this system is not to determine the fate of the student through a single chance exam only, and to take into account any compelling circumstances that may occur to the student from illness, family circumstances, or other circumstances.
As for the exam fees, the Minister indicated that taking the exam for the first time is free, while subsequent attempts are for a fee, with those who are unable to pay any exam fees being exempted.
The meeting witnessed an extensive discussion and presentation of visions and proposals regarding the "Egyptian Baccalaureate" certificate, the most important of which was the necessity for the new system to be in light of the goals of the presidential initiative to build the Egyptian character, and the involvement of all stakeholders in the community dialogue to change the secondary school system, as well as securing resources in order to provide qualified teachers to implement this new system, and the need for the success of the new secondary school system for sustainability, in addition to the necessity of setting conditions and controls for the number of improvement attempts in the new baccalaureate system to ensure the efficiency of opportunities, and attention to languages and technological skills and the inclusion of artificial intelligence to keep pace with future jobs.
The proposals also included reviewing the various projects that discuss the secondary school system, which were prepared by specialized experts, and restructuring education before introducing a new secondary school system, and that the development of education be a comprehensive concept in university education and before it, in addition to proposing proposals to keep the term "secondary school", and focus on teaching Egyptian history, and introducing the subject of values and thinking skills, in addition to the necessity of providing guidance and career guidance services for students. At the end of the meeting, the participants expressed their appreciation for the efforts of the Ministry of Education in developing the educational system as a continuation of the state's efforts to develop education, indicating that the project is a positive step towards development, and is a good opportunity to ease the burden on the Egyptian family.