Ministers of Higher Education, Education, Parliamentary and Legal Affairs hold a discussion session
The Ministry of Education and Technical Education continued, this evening, a series of community dialogue sessions on the proposed "Egyptian Baccalaureate Certificate System", where a discussion session was held with members of the House of Representatives, in the presence of Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education, and Counselor Mahmoud Fawzy, Minister of Parliamentary and Legal Affairs and Political Communication, with the aim of listening to the opinions and proposals of the honorable representatives on this system.
The session was attended by members of the Education and Scientific Research Committee in the House of Representatives, a number of heads of parliamentary bodies of the parties represented in the Council, and independent representatives, including Dr. Ali Gomaa, former Mufti of the Republic, member of the Senior Scholars Authority and head of the Religious Committee in the House of Representatives, Representative Mustafa Bakri, and Dr. Sahar Attia.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, stressed the importance of community dialogue to exchange views and proposals regarding the implementation of the new Egyptian Baccalaureate system, pointing out the importance of community participation in the vision of the two ministries to develop the educational system as desired, stressing that university education is an extension of pre-university education, as the student in the pre-university stage is considered the graduate who is qualified in universities to be ready to participate effectively in society and the labor market.
Dr. Ayman Ashour pointed out the importance of integrating the vision between the Ministries of Higher Education and Education to develop the Egyptian education system in a manner that is consistent with the needs of the labor market, explaining that the Egyptian Baccalaureate system and the foundation year constitute a joint strategic vision aimed at developing educational paths by focusing on the skills required in the labor market, noting that improving the outcomes of pre-university education contributes to raising the quality of university education and enhances its ability to meet the needs of the labor market, especially in light of the emergence of new specializations, such as: artificial intelligence, genomic medicine, and big data, stressing the importance of supporting these fields in Egypt to qualify students to keep pace with future developments.
Dr. Ayman Ashour reviewed the educational tracks available in Egyptian universities, explaining that they are in line with the needs of the current and future labor market, noting that the study programs in various specializations, such as life sciences and medicine, natural sciences, engineering and technology, social sciences and business administration, arts and humanities, are constantly updated according to the latest global trends, making them responsive to the requirements of the industrial and production sectors and development plans in Egypt. Dr. Ayman Ashour stressed that the foundation year is an important step to support students who did not obtain the required grades for the specializations they wish to join, noting that this system is applied globally, as well as in branches of foreign universities in Egypt, noting that the foundation year is granted to a student who did not obtain the minimum qualifying grades for a specific specialization by a difference of 5%, which gives him the opportunity to join the desired specialization, adding that the goal of this year is to enhance students' academic and technical skills; This contributes to bridging the gap between higher education outcomes and labor market requirements, and leads to the provision of qualified cadres that meet its needs. He also stressed that the foundation year aims to reduce the number of expatriate students seeking study opportunities abroad. For his part, Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education, stressed the importance of the House of Representatives' active role in supporting the government to advance the educational process as a common issue that requires enhancing cooperation between all parties to achieve the desired reforms in education, noting that the ministry is keen to be open to all opinions and proposals, and that it seeks through community dialogue to reach any proposals to improve the system currently presented for discussion and study these proposals and benefit from them, stressing that the ministry has worked hard in cooperation with all parties to put forward the new proposal. The Minister of Education said that in response to many questions, the most important of which is why intensive decisions were taken to amend the educational system before the start of the school year, especially for the secondary stage, and how the idea of development began to reach the baccalaureate proposal, explaining that the problems facing the educational process were identified, and rapid measures were taken to solve these problems, stressing that the ministry succeeded in developing positive and constructive solutions to the chronic challenges of the educational process that continued for about 30 years, including student densities that reached 120 students per class and currently reached Less than 50 students, as well as addressing the problem of the shortage in the number of teachers, especially in basic subjects, in addition to the student attendance rate, which currently reaches more than 85%, after it did not exceed 9%.
The Minister of Education added that the secondary stage was also considered, in which 32 subjects are taught, so the motive for taking decisions to merge the subjects before the start of the school year was to relieve the 3 million students studying in the secondary stage, indicating that this was a temporary measure to solve a problem on the ground quickly, until the completion of an integrated vision for development.
The Minister of Education also stressed that the restructuring steps were the result of a group of research and studies, through the National Research Center, meetings with experts, studying the experiences and proposals of former ministers, and intensive meetings with professors of faculties of education and their former and current deans, and it was concluded that there must be a vision for development that relieves our students who study 32 subjects
Compared to their peers at the same stage, they study only 8 to 10 subjects in the same period.
During the meeting, Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif reviewed the proposed new Egyptian Baccalaureate system, stressing that we have worked hard to put forward the proposal and aim to achieve a better future for our children, and that it was not put forward until after developing well-studied plans for educational systems around the world by experts and members of the National Council for Educational Research and professors of faculties of education, in addition to holding intensive sessions to study this proposal in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Universities.
The Minister of Education explained that the new Egyptian Baccalaureate system includes 7 subjects divided over two academic years and has 4 specialized scientific tracks, which are (Medicine and Life Sciences Track - Engineering and Computer Science Track - Business Track - Arts and Literature Track).
The Minister added that some general rules have been set within the Egyptian Baccalaureate system, namely that the student has two chances to take the exam during the academic year, May and July sessions and June and August sessions, continuing: "We had a general secondary school system that did not qualify for university admission, but the proposed new system qualifies a graduate with abilities and skills to enter university, helping him shape his future and choose his career path in the future, with the possibility of modifying it, which enhances opportunities for our students."
Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif added that the new Baccalaureate system lifts the pressure on parents and students, gives the student more than one opportunity, and reduces the psychological and material burden every year due to the general secondary school in its traditional form.
The Minister pointed out that the learning outcomes that we are working on were set by the Supreme Council of Universities, based on scientific studies and continuous research on the skills and knowledge needed by the student who will join the university in each specialization.
For his part, Counselor Mahmoud Fawzy, Minister of Parliamentary and Legal Affairs and Political Communication, stressed that the community dialogue session on the “Egyptian Baccalaureate” system aims to present all the details of the proposal to the honorable representatives, to ensure a clear vision and provide a comprehensive space for exchanging opinions and proposals.
The Minister pointed out that the main goal of this dialogue is to reach the best possible vision for the Egyptian Baccalaureate system, in a way that achieves the public interest and contributes to the development of the national education system, as the government places the development of education at the forefront of its priorities, in line with the requirements of the era and the needs of youth, and presenting the new system for community dialogue to some of the concerned honorable representatives does not conflict with their right to exercise their full legislative role, in accordance with the parliamentary tools assigned to them under the dome of Parliament.
Counselor Mahmoud Fawzy stressed that the proposed system is consistent with the constitutional obligations stipulated in Article 24 of the Constitution, which states that “the Arabic language, religious education and national history at all levels are basic subjects in pre-university education,” reflecting the state’s commitment to preserving the national identity and promoting basic values in education.
During the meeting, a set of opinions and questions were raised that reflect the views of the honorable representatives regarding the proposal of the Egyptian Baccalaureate Certificate System, which was discussed by the honorable ministers.
The honorable representatives participating in the session also expressed the support and solidarity of the Council with the government, stressing the Council's readiness to provide any recommendations that can be used to develop the educational process. The efforts of the Minister of Education were also praised, as well as addressing the challenges of the educational system and confronting the student density and the shortage in the number of teachers and the return of students to schools, with realistic and successful solutions, appreciating the positive changes witnessed by the educational process this academic year.
The proposal of the Egyptian Baccalaureate Certificate also received the support of the honorable participants in the session, while emphasizing the importance of fulfilling all aspects related to ways to implement it in a way that reflects the real development of the educational process and a real reduction in the burden on Egyptian families.