The Minister of Education witnesses a panel discussion entitled “Sharing experiences and ideas
Dr. Reda Hegazy, Minister of Education and Technical Education, witnessed a panel discussion entitled “Sharing experiences and ideas between the Ministry of Education and Technical Education and development partners,” within the framework of the activities of the conference “Work Directions of the Ministry of Education and Technical Education in Light of the Strategic Plan.”
Dr. Amira Kazim, Senior Officer for Education Sector Operations at the World Bank, moderated the session, in which a number of speakers participated, including Dr. Akram Hassan, Head of the Central Administration for Curriculum Development, Dr. Hala Abdel Salam, Head of the Central Administration for Public Education, Dr. Omar Bousila, Head of the Central Administration for Technical Education, and Dr. Tariq Khan. Senior Education Specialist at the Global Partnership for Education, Mr. Shiraz Shakira, Head of the Education Section at UNICEF Egypt, Mr. Gwang Chul Wang, Head of the Education Policy Section at UNESCO Paris, Professor Alice Berslin, Leader of the Human Development and Inclusive Growth Team at the European Union Delegation, and Professor Radwa Abdel Raouf, Head of the Technical Education Component. And the labor market, Vice President of the Technical Education and Transition to Green Education Project at the German International Cooperation Agency.
During the session, Dr. Akram Hassan, Head of the Central Administration for Curriculum Development, reviewed the Ministry’s achievements, especially the development of the preparatory stage curricula, in continuation of the education reform plan that was launched in 2018. The Ministry was also concerned with addressing the gap resulting from educational loss as a result of the repercussions of the Corona pandemic and the Producing a combined compensation program.
Dr. Akram Hassan pointed out the priorities that the Ministry is interested in, including completing the development journey for the high school stage, and benefiting from applications of artificial intelligence and information and communication technology. Therefore, an applied curriculum was developed to improve learning outcomes, in addition to paying attention to the second foreign language to enhance students’ culture of foreign cultures, which increases Opportunities to join various jobs.
The head of the Central Administration for Curriculum Development drew attention to improving reading, writing, and numeracy skills among children, especially those in the second grade of primary school, through developing a remedial enrichment program, which had a significant impact in overcoming these challenges and improving learning outcomes.
For her part, Dr. Hala Abdel Salam, Head of the Central Administration for Public Education, affirmed that developing education is the direction of the Egyptian state, reviewing the Ministry’s priorities, which are to continue the development system while correcting some paths, and training first-grade middle school teachers on the developed curriculum, in addition to training classroom teachers. The first is recent graduates who are adequately familiar with the new curricula.
Dr. Hala Abdel Salam also indicated that the Ministry seeks to provide more learning resources, especially digital ones, support the concept of entrepreneurship and financial inclusion and include it within educational curricula, promote the concept of comprehensive integration within schools, and pay attention to special groups, which include gifted people and people of determination.
Hala Abdel Salam reviewed the challenges that the Ministry faces through public education, including increased density in classes, teacher shortages, and the inability to accommodate 100% in kindergarten classrooms.
Dr. Hala Abdel Salam also indicated that the available opportunities are to continue work on training teachers periodically, which has already begun, especially for the kindergarten stage, expanding the scope of kindergartens and the quality system, and linking curricula to the labor market, as technology has been integrated into education through many measures from Among them is activating viewing quotas in schools.
Dr. Amr Basila, Head of the Central Administration for the Development of Technical Education and Supervisor of the Applied Technology Schools Operation Unit, confirmed that today we can say that the mental image of technical education has changed, as a result of the increasing demand for enrollment in technical education schools, indicating that the most important of these indicators in 2018 The percentage of students applying for the preparatory certificate for technical education was 45%, and the percentage of students applying for the year 2023 is 57%.
For his part, Dr. Amr Basila, Head of the Central Administration for the Development of Technical Education, indicated that Egypt’s ranking in the Egyptian Knowledge Index and the sub-index for technical and technical education is at 46th place, jumping 35 places compared to the year 2022 after it was in 113th place in 2013.
Dr. Amr Basila also reviewed the remaining challenges in Egyptian technical education, which are focusing on graduates of commercial technical education to be more suitable for the requirements of the labor market, reforming work-based learning (the work system), enhancing students’ ability to communicate in European languages, and making optimal use of the production facilities present in schools. Technical education, encouraging the private sector to invest in private technical education, and using digitization in program design and evaluation.
For his part, Gwang Chul Wang, Head of the Education Policy Department at UNESCO, congratulated Dr. Reda Hegazy on the ministry’s achievements, reviewing some of the challenges and priorities for developing the education sector in Egypt, as he pointed out that Egypt is a model that many countries can emulate.
Gwang Chol Wang pointed out that, from what was analyzed in the education sector plan in Egypt, despite the challenges facing the educational sector in Egypt, it includes the largest educational system in the region, and this system has achieved many clear and tangible steps in developing the system despite Of the challenges you face.
The head of the Education Policies Department at UNESCO also praised what Egypt had done in the field of inclusion and dealing with children with special needs, as well as what had been done in the field of governance and management, enhancing community dialogue, and efforts in the field of digital transformation, as Egypt began before others to provide technology, which is the case. Which helped alleviate challenges and continue the learning process during the Covid pandemic.
Shiraz Shakra, Head of the Education Department at UNICEF, also spoke about the importance of partnerships in the field of education, praising the improvements that have occurred in the field of education in Egypt, which have progressed at a rapid rate in light of many challenges, as well as the good results of international student assessments.
The head of the Education Department at UNICEF pointed to the organization’s cooperation with the Ministry to improve students’ skills and achieve inclusion within an effective framework, as well as providing new data to parents to enable them to support their children in education, in addition to enhancing how to support teachers, and developing the Ministry’s strategic planning to include all governorates.
The head of the Education Department at UNICEF added that the transformation in education led by the Egyptian Ministry of Education and Technical Education in cooperation with UNESCO and UNICEF at the country level works to strengthen Egypt’s position.
For her part, Alice Berslin, Leader of the Human Development and Comprehensive Growth Team of the European Union Mission, said that European institutions are working to enable various partnerships, expressing her happiness in cooperating with Egypt, specifically the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, through the (Erasmas) program and 6 other programs in the field of technical education. She stressed that this partnership aims to support the quality of education based on competencies and skills, and to support further curriculum development.
Berslin added that there is cooperation in the field of teacher training, and facing the challenge of class density within schools to accommodate more students, stressing the importance of developing education in the early stage and developing teachers in the primary stage.
Professor Radwa Abdel Raouf, Deputy Head of the Project at the German Agency for International Cooperation, reviewed the achievements of the GIz organization in the field of technical education and the labor market, which began in the nineties, stressing the organization’s interest in achieving the axes of the technical education strategy at the national level and establishing a school quality accreditation body and supporting working cadres.
At the conclusion of the session, the attendees agreed on the importance of supporting the improvement of the quality of kindergartens, developing curricula, and professional development for teachers and supervisors of educational departments and directorates, in addition to paying attention to international evaluations and emphasizing the use of technology in developing education.