The Minister of Education meets with the Lebanese Minister of Education and Higher Education
Dr. Reda Hegazy, Minister of Education and Technical Education, met with Dr. Abbas Al-Halabi, Minister of Education and Higher Education of the Lebanese Republic, on the sidelines of the activities of the World Education Forum 2024, which is being held in London, to discuss enhancing aspects of cooperation between the two countries in a number of files related to the field of education. Before university.
During the meeting, Dr. Reda Hegazy valued the bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the field of pre-university education, stressing the ministry’s interest in developing the educational system, especially technical education, and involving the private sector, companies, and business owners in implementing the reform and development plan in the field of technical education, in addition to the ministry’s efforts in Developing curricula and expanding the establishment of schools for outstanding students in science and technology, in addition to professional development efforts for teachers, noting that Egypt has 25.5 million students in Egyptian schools.
Dr. Reda Hegazy continued that Egypt has 2,500 schools equipped with the technological infrastructure for the secondary stage. First-year secondary school students are also given a tablet equipped with a set of digital educational materials, and the student uses it as one of the learning sources and through it can access knowledge platforms and multiple learning sources.
The Minister also reviewed the secondary school examination system, explaining that the examinations for the first and second grades of general secondary school take place at the level of the educational administration, where students are tested using tablet devices to enter the examination platform in each educational administration, while secondary school students take the examinations on paper, with 85% allocated. Multiple choice questions are corrected electronically, and 15% short essay questions are corrected by sending a picture of the student’s answer to two teachers via the teacher’s tablet.
Dr. Reda Hegazy pointed out that the Egyptian state places the education file at its top priority, stressing that the plan to develop the educational system is carried out in accordance with international standards. He also pointed out that the ministry includes a central administration specialized in curriculum development that seeks the assistance of experts from colleges of education.
In this context, Dr. Reda Hegazy pointed out the Ministry’s keenness to conduct community dialogue and the participation of all parties related to curriculum development, as the development of the preparatory stage curricula has been completed to complement the new curricula in the primary stage, and the Ministry is currently preparing to bring about comprehensive development for the secondary stage.
The minister added that there is a continuous evaluation process for the ministry's strategic plan, its implementation steps, and the results achieved in each axis of development.
Dr. Reda Hegazy added that the Ministry has also prepared open question banks from the fourth grade to the third grade of secondary school that help students evaluate their academic achievement, for better learning. The student can also access each unit of questions separately and a report of his performance appears. He also Each student has been assigned an e-mail address through which he can correspond, and a message can be sent to him on his e-mail or on his tablet.
Regarding the professional development of teachers, Dr. Reda Hegazy explained that many training packages for teachers are being implemented through the Professional Academy for Teachers, to empower members of the Egyptian Education Authority and raise the level of their professional performance, stressing the Ministry’s keenness to raise the levels of teaching performance for teachers and provide them with distinguished professional development opportunities to build character. Administratively competent leadership, capable of facing the challenges of the times, which was translated by the new vision of the educational system in Egypt through the development of a group of training programs and packages that are in line with the latest global trends. To keep pace with cognitive and technological development and achieve the quality of the educational process.
The Minister also stressed that the Egyptian state has a mechanism for selecting new teachers that relies on selecting the most qualified, because teachers are the ones who will bring about movement, change and development, reviewing the presidential initiative “1000 School Principals” which aims to select school principals from competent and distinguished young teachers, as they are the nucleus of bringing about the desired development. In school management, and achieving a qualitative shift in various schools in Egypt.
The Minister also indicated that the Ministry is keen to treat weak basic skills in reading, writing and arithmetic, to reduce educational loss through diagnostic and remedial programmes. The Ministry also conducts national tests to identify weak points and this is done under the supervision of the National Center for Examinations, in addition to training teachers on how to apply Diagnostic and remedial programs to support students' reading and writing skills.
For his part, the Lebanese Minister stressed that the Egyptian state is the most important country in the region, praising its great experience in the educational field, especially in light of digital transformation, the establishment of question banks, and grants that can be exchanged between Egyptian and Lebanese students.
The Lebanese Minister of Education and Higher Education also reviewed efforts to support the education system in Lebanon, as well as efforts to establish various centers to confront the challenge of school dropouts, in addition to professional development for teachers and their distance training.
The meeting discussed enhancing ways of cooperation, exchanging experiences, and benefiting from the Egyptian experience in the field of developing pre-university education. Dr. Reda Hegazy welcomed the joint cooperation between the two countries through a joint protocol renewing the protocol that was signed in 2005 in view of the development witnessed in the field of education, which resulted in new experiences. And more experience in the field of professional development for teachers and curriculum development.