Dr. Reda Hegazy attends the workshop “Activating the role of civil society in supporting community
Dr. Reda Hegazy, Minister of Education and Technical Education, witnessed a workshop organized by the Ministry in cooperation with the Plan International Foundation on “activating the role of civil society in supporting community schools in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Technical Education” to confront dropouts from education.
At the beginning of his speech, Dr. Reda Hegazy welcomed the attendees from the leaders of the Ministry of Education, Technical Education, and NGOs, stressing that the Ministry was one of the first ministries to establish an entity that deals with NGOs and NGOs. This was in 1998 in the Ministry’s office, and then it established affiliated departments and divisions in 2000. Educational directorates and departments.
The Minister stressed that the primary goal of establishing this entity: It is to overcome the difficulties that NGOs encounter when implementing their projects and programs in schools, as well as proposing programs and projects implemented by NGOs in support of the educational process, and coordinating the services of NGOs in the places where projects are implemented in a way that supports the development of the educational process.
The Minister referred to the effective role of civil society associations, saying: “Based on the Ministry’s belief in the effective role of civil society organizations, the Ministry paid attention to proposing draft resolutions that help in activating the role of associations in support of performing their mission. This was Ministerial Resolution No. (30) of 2000, which we are now amending.” ; The outcome of the first national conference for civil society organizations working in the field of education, which was held on March 5, 2000, in the presence of representatives of (300) civil society organizations, the president of the Union of Civil Associations and Institutions, the ministers of education and social affairs at that time, and the governors of Cairo and Giza. The demand was to allow civil society organizations By establishing community classes and kindergarten classes, and annexing them to the Ministry in places where there are no schools and where there is not a sufficient number of students to open a large school, this decision was supportive and an essential element in combating educational dropout.”
The Minister stressed that the Ministry’s strategic plan (2024/2029) places the accessibility axis at the top of its goals, stressing that the plan arose as a result of an analysis of the education sector in cooperation with large international institutions, and in light of that, the strategic plan and the basic axes were created, noting that digital transformation and green learning, Quality, sustainability, literacy, water awareness, literacy (awareness, empowerment), and supporting the gifted are among the most important basic themes of the strategic plan.
The Minister called on civil society institutions, as active partners in decision-making, to further enhance cooperation in supporting the educational process in community schools within a framework of legal mechanisms and their specific roles.
Dr. Reda Hegazy explained that the Ministry is making great efforts to confront the phenomenon of dropping out of education, which is due to several factors, including poverty and deep-rooted customs and traditions in some families. He pointed out that these efforts will not achieve the desired results except through cooperation and integration with various relevant authorities, especially community institutions. Civil.
The Minister also pointed out the importance of cooperation with civil society in achieving quality education, classroom management, and providing a safe school environment that supports the teaching and learning process and is attractive to students, stressing the importance of strengthening cooperation mechanisms with the Ministry also in discovering talented people and providing the necessary tools to achieve this.
At the conclusion of his speech, the Minister extended his thanks and appreciation to everyone who supported this work, expressing his aspiration for more effective and beneficial partnerships on the ground, which will reflect positively on the educational process, hoping that this workshop will produce a comprehensive decision that includes all responsibilities and roles without overlapping in An effective partnership framework. He also expressed his thanks to all the participants in this workshop and all parties that contribute to its completion.
For her part, Professor Randa Halawa, Head of the Central Department for Combating Educational Dropout, thanked the Minister for his sponsorship of this event and the civil society organizations and civil society organizations supporting the Ministry, stressing that there are many wonderful pioneering practices by most civil society organizations that have established community chapters, in addition to the distinguished partnerships from the community. Civilian with the Ministry.
She explained that this workshop aims to reformulate the decision to remove all obstacles, and put the points in their correct places to prevent any defect, stressing that this workshop is represented by all civil society associations that establish community schools with the leaders entrusted by the Ministry to produce distinguished work and fair, organized and specific formulas.
For her part, Rozan Khalifa, Country Director of Plan International Egypt, said: “Ministerial Resolution No. 30 of 2000 is a pivotal step that strengthens our commitment to addressing the critical issues related to dropping out of education and early marriage, and also confirms the plan’s compatibility with the priorities of our strategic plan, which is to create an environment Supportive and safe educational education that ensures girls’ access to high-quality educational opportunities, stressing that educating girls, children and young people is one of the main priorities of Plan International, as we believe in the importance of providing educational opportunities for all children in all regions, including marginalized and remote areas, and community education schools are considered “It is an essential element in achieving this goal, as it contributes to reducing illiteracy and school dropout, reintegrating dropouts into schools and ensuring high-quality education.”
She also confirmed that Plan International Egypt will continue to activate and enhance the strategic option of partnership with civil society organizations by improving the possibility of working with decision makers to enable children to access a more comprehensive and effective educational environment, with a special focus on enhancing educational opportunities for girls, to reach the final goal. It is the development of stronger, more resilient societies that thrive on the basis of equitable and accessible education, which contributes to achieving the common goal of improving the quality of education and eliminating negative phenomena that affect the rights of girls and children in Egypt.
40 civil society organizations participated in this workshop, and it included a number of sessions. The first session discussed a number of topics, namely the requirements of the Educational Building Authority for building and establishing community classrooms, the donor’s relationship with the classroom after its establishment, and the maintenance of community schools established through associations and which were annexed to the Ministry of Education. And technical education.
The second session also included topics on the mechanism for disbursing teachers’ salaries, administrative matters for established classes and their affiliation, aspects of supervising them in accordance with the rules, and what roles associations can provide as a form of assistance and support in accordance with the administrative rules of the Ministry, the level of teachers and their professional development and the relationship of the donor or association with that, and reviewing the level of teachers and their professional development. Chapters and the extent of associations’ intervention in this, and establishing a specific mechanism for their roles.
The workshop was attended by the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, Professor Randa Halawa, Director of the Central Administration for Combating Educational Dropouts, and representatives of the departments of the Educational Buildings Authority, Financial and Administrative Guidance, Legal Affairs, the Central Administration of Security, and representatives of civil society institutions.
On the part of Plan International, the organization was attended by Rozan Khalifa, country director of the organization, Radwa Tarek, strategic head of programs, Mohamed Gadallah, director of program quality and partnerships, and Imad Gad, director of the Greater Cairo Programs Unit.