Minister of Education discusses with Japanese Ambassador to Cairo

Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education, received today, Ambassador Oka Hiroshi, Ambassador of Japan to Cairo, and his accompanying delegation, to discuss aspects of cooperation in the field of developing pre-university education, through current and future joint projects, and review a number of issues related to education.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Minister welcomed the attendees, stressing the distinguished relations between Egypt and Japan in the field of education, as Japan occupies a leading position in the field of education, and the Ministry seeks to strengthen relations and exchange experiences to develop the educational process in Egypt.

The Minister stressed that the political leadership pays great attention to Egyptian-Japanese schools, noting that the Ministry is working to implement the presidential directives to expand the establishment of this type of schools, as they have three main advantages; The essence of Japanese education lies in the integrated personality of the child, developing students' academic abilities and developing morals in order to raise generations that adhere to rules and laws, and respect the feelings of others. The group learning formula also develops communication skills with others.

For his part, Oka Hiroshi, the Japanese Ambassador to Cairo, expressed his happiness with this meeting, stressing that Egyptian-Japanese relations are a model to be emulated in all fields, expressing his country's keenness to strengthen the strategic partnership with Egypt in all fields, especially in the field of education.

The Japanese Ambassador to Cairo also praised the achievements in the field of pre-university education, and the efforts of Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif in developing the educational process in Egypt, stressing that education is one of the priority areas of cooperation between Japan and Egypt.

Mr. Oka Hiroshi added that education in Egypt is proceeding with systematic and distinctive steps, pointing to the wonderful progress of primary school students in Egyptian-Japanese schools in acquiring skills, which confirms the efforts made by both the Egyptian and Japanese sides, in addition to the good feedback from parents as a result of the success of these schools and the positive change they have seen in the behavior of their students.

Ambassador Oka Hiroshi, Ambassador of Japan to Egypt, welcomed the support for joint cooperation with Egypt, the exchange of Japanese expertise in the field of education, and strengthening the strong partnership between the two countries, and the use of Japanese experts in providing the required technical expertise, building the capacities of teachers, and improving school management in Egyptian-Japanese schools, stressing Japan's pride in the experience of Egyptian-Japanese schools and working to increase their numbers in the future.

The meeting discussed the expansion of the number of Egyptian-Japanese schools, which currently number 55 schools in 26 governorates with a total of more than 16,000 students and 2,000 male and female teachers, and emphasized ensuring quality and good supervision of these schools, in addition to choosing appropriate locations for new schools, the necessary infrastructure and equipment for these schools, as well as activating Tokkatsu activities within 100 existing government schools for the 2024/2025 academic year distributed across 16 governorates, in addition to targeting the activation of Tokkatsu activities in government schools for 1,700 government schools by the 2026/2027 academic year.

The meeting also discussed the possibility of implementing activities in middle and high schools as a continuation of Tokkatsu activities that focus on citizenship and preparing students for the labor market, as well as cooperation in activities related to science, mathematics and programming for the secondary stage, in addition to Egyptian middle school students joining their peers in Japan to implement educational projects, which contributes to enhancing cultural exchange between students.

The meeting also discussed enhancing teacher capacity building programs, as 30,000 teachers have been trained on Tokkatsu activities in public schools so far, in addition to discussing ways to enhance cooperation in the field of technical education.

The meeting was attended from the Japanese Embassy in Cairo by Mr. Suzuki Yusuke, Economic Counselor, Mr. Kawashima Shizuki, Second Secretary for Economic Affairs, and Ms. Minas Ahmed, Senior Researcher and Translator in the Economic Department.

From JICA, Mr. Kato Ken, Head of JICA Office in Egypt, Mr. Yazaki Jintar, Deputy Head of JICA Office, and Ms. Dina Karam, Chief Program Officer at the Agency, attended.

From the Ministry of Education, Ms. Sherine Hamdy, the Minister’s Advisor for International Relations and Agreements, and Supervisor of the Central Administration for the Minister’s Office Affairs, and Ms. Nevin Hamouda, the Minister’s Advisor for Strategic Relations and Supervisor of the Egyptian-Japanese Schools, attended.