The Minister of Education participates in the Thirteenth Conference of Arab Ministers of Education in Morocco
Dr. Reda Hegazy:
Digital transformation in education is an inevitable and existential necessity in all stages of education
The educational reality in our Arab countries is full of many efforts that deserve appreciation and praise in the fields of education development
Egypt has begun to take real steps to develop learning contents and change examination methods
Taking care of the teacher, his professional development and his possession of the necessary skills is a top priority for the Egyptian state
The selection and selection of teachers in Egypt is currently carried out according to a number of criteria in order to improve the educational cadres
The Ministry is making great efforts to develop curricula in accordance with the new education system and to integrate digital transformation in education in line with the specifications required for future graduates.
The need to strengthen Arab cooperation in developing new goals, objectives, concepts and methods of education to ensure that learners acquire the necessary skills for the twenty-first century
Dr. Reda Hegazy, Minister of Education and Technical Education, participated today, Wednesday, in the 13th Conference of Arab Ministers of Education, which will be held in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, from May 29 to 31, 2023 under the title “The Future of Education in the Arab World in Light of Digital Transformation.”
Dr. Reda Hegazy's participation comes as part of an intense presence of Arab ministers of education, to review the Egyptian experience in integrating digital transformation into the education system. The conference aims to exchange different experiences in the field of education, formulate future directions and visions for its development, and strengthen cooperation mechanisms between Arab countries in the same field.
Dr. Reda Hegazy delivered a speech during the ministerial session of the conference, expressing at the outset his happiness to participate in this conference, offering congratulations to Dr. Chakib Benmoussa, Minister of National Education, Primary Education and Sports in the Kingdom of Morocco for chairing the thirteenth session of the conference, praising the title of the conference that focuses on one. The most important contemporary challenges in the field of education, and thanked the State of Palestine for the efforts it made in this regard.
The Minister of Education added that modern digital technologies, with their accelerating pace, have become a reality in daily life, and have a clear and tangible impact in all fields, which makes digital transformation in education an inevitable and existential necessity in the various stages of education, pointing to the repercussions of the Corona pandemic that has accelerated the pace of use. Technology in the educational process, and it has become necessary to work on providing children and youth with a lot of digital and life knowledge and skills necessary, to keep pace with the rapidly evolving future changes.
Dr. Reda Hegazy explained that the industrial revolutions, artificial intelligence and digital transformation have all changed the shape and specifications of future jobs, and accordingly the Egyptian Ministry of Education is making great efforts to develop educational curricula in accordance with the new education system and integrate digital transformation in education in a way that achieves the desired learning outcomes and is compatible with the specifications required for graduates. future, pointing out that the current generation of students is a digital generation.
The minister added that the digital transformation in education is not only a technical process, but it must be an essential element in facilitating the achievement of the desired transformations and the competencies of future education, as digitization in education enables the application of the principles of individualization of learning and self-learning, teamwork and adaptation of the applied use of new knowledge and the creation of building patterns. To participate by accepting comments from colleagues, participating in working groups, and producing common knowledge and solutions. Technology must also be integrated into the education program and technology should not be presented separately, in order to take into account the humanization of education.
Dr. Reda Hegazy explained that the development of school curricula in Egypt aims to shift from memorizing and indoctrination to stimulating innovation and creativity and from jumping on results to suffering processes, as well as evaluating students by measuring learning outcomes and major concepts that are based on life skills.
He continued that the development of the educational system in Egypt includes all aspects of the system, whether with regard to developing curricula, educational platforms, and question banks from which test questions are drawn, as well as developing methods for evaluating students throughout the year.
Dr. Reda Hegazy stressed that caring for the teacher, his professional development and his possession of the necessary skills are at the top of the Egyptian state's priorities, pointing out that the selection and selection of teachers in Egypt is currently carried out according to a number of criteria with the aim of upgrading the educational cadres within the framework of developing the educational system as a whole, through their possession of professional skills and knowledge. And sound professional values and behaviors, as well as their ability to continuously develop their skills so that they can keep pace with different and modern learning methods associated with digital transformation, technology and other scientific and educational tools.
The minister indicated that digital transformation will not replace the teacher, but rather help him to perform his role in preparing educational materials and leading the educational process, all of which takes place in a smart, flexible, multi-purpose school building.
He explained that facing the current challenges and changes requires abandoning the traditional systems, strategies and usual work mechanisms, which are unable to accommodate the requirements of digital transformation and education in the era of learning societies, hence the great importance of the topic of today's conference, indicating that the Arab countries meet during the conference to exchange experiences and promote Arab cooperation in developing new goals, objectives, concepts and methods of education, to ensure that learners acquire the necessary skills for the twenty-first century.
The minister said that in light of studies and research in future sciences and the introduction to heutagogya, he raised a number of questions about what future education is and whether students will learn outside the classroom supported by different devices, listening to teachers of their choice, indicating that learning skills will not be limited to paper, but rather It will be based on students' performance in their field, stressing that education will take different forms.
Dr. Reda Hegazy presented a set of principles that will shape the features of education during the next twenty years, namely that ready-made curricula imposed from higher levels are no longer suitable for the next generation. Business.
The principles put forward by Dr. Reda Hegazy also include freedom from time and space by providing multiple opportunities for learning during school days, as the minister indicated that e-learning tools provide opportunities for distance learning and self-learning, and the theoretical part of the curriculum can be studied outside the classroom. While the practical part is taught face to face in the classroom and interactively.
The Minister also put forward the principle of individualizing learning and accelerating education by providing teaching tools that are compatible with students' abilities, so that students become positively reinforced during the individual learning process, and so that each student learns according to his own learning speed.
The principles also included project-based learning, as Dr. Reda Hijazi indicated that since professions adapt to the future of the self-employment economy, today's students will adapt to project-based learning, which means that they have to learn how to use their skills in short periods and diverse circumstances and use an entrance Values in the early childhood stages to form a generation compatible with the customs and traditions that characterize the Egyptian society.
The minister also put forward the principle of managing and producing knowledge, which will become the new basic skill, which includes presenting theoretical knowledge in numbers, using inferences of the human mind to infer logic and directions from this data, and integrating engineering with science and cross-sectional fields in the curricula.
Dr. Reda Hijazi also touched on substituting evaluation for tests, which enables measuring the real knowledge of students during the learning process, which in turn aims to apply knowledge instead of memorization and indoctrination.
Dr. Reda Hegazy stressed that during the next twenty years, students will be more independent in their learning process, and guidance and counseling will become an essential factor for student success, and teachers will form a central point in guiding students to basic information among the vast amount of knowledge to make their way through.
In another context, the minister touched on the educational reality in the Arab countries, pointing out that it is full of many efforts that deserve appreciation and praise in the fields of education development, especially in the field of digital transformation, and at the same time evidence indicates the existence of gaps in the education systems in some Arab countries. In the field of digital transformation, including the content of curricula and traditional teaching and evaluation methods, which promote indoctrination and memorization, and do not take into account the competencies and skills of the twenty-first century, indicating that funding is still an obstacle towards achieving the principle of inclusiveness in the field of digital transformation and making technology accessible to everyone, in addition to the scarcity of cadres. Human beings capable of managing digital transformation and resistance of societal culture to change, lack of integration of governance and monitoring elements to protect data, and security controls in educational platforms.
The Minister reviewed the main points in the field of future education competencies and in the field of digital transformation from the reality of the Egyptian experience, indicating that there is an urgent need to change convictions and develop concepts to build the foundations for the transition from education to learning, re-learning, and lifelong learning, with what this requires in terms of changes in the structure of education. Education and its Contents and Methods Egypt has begun to take real steps to develop the contents of learning and change the methods of examinations.
The minister stressed the need for learners to acquire twenty-first century skills and skills beyond applied knowledge, which are transferable skills throughout their lives such as critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, knowledge management, teamwork and creative thinking, explaining that the Egyptian Ministry of Education is currently working on gradually integrating These skills are in the new curricula and teacher training.
The minister continued, stressing the interest in the primary role of each of the teacher and the school, which cannot be dispensed with at all in the framework of digital transformation, but with a change in roles, as the new role of the teacher focuses on training, guidance, support, motivation, organization, coordination, and the use of creative teaching alternatives to deepen the acquired knowledge, and apply Educational thought that is commensurate with the data of the twenty-first century, in addition to that, the need to put capacity-enhancing processes, build integrated technical skills for all officials in the educational process (teacher), management, governance, educational content, and evaluation tools at the top of work priorities, as well as the importance of enhancing digital educational content and activities. Among the elements of scientific and media literacy, given the exposure of students and teachers to false news, media fallacies, and misleading scientific facts.
At the end of his speech, the Minister expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Kingdom of Morocco for its good hosting, and to the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) for extending the kind invitation to participate in this esteemed conference.
Dr. Mohamed Ould Omar, Director General of ALECSO, presented the organization’s shield to Dr. Reda Hegazy, in appreciation of the Arab Republic of Egypt’s attainment of an advanced position in the quality of education at the international level, with distinction in the application of e-learning in pre-university education.