Minister of Education meets with British Council senior leadership team
Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education, met today with Ms. Kate Ewart Biggs, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the British Council, Mr. Michael Connolly, Director of English Language Programs, and Mr. Mark Walker, Director of English Language and Examinations; to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in joint educational projects.
This was attended by a group of experts in vocational training for teachers, curriculum experts, and accreditation of academic degrees.
At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif praised the deep historical relations with Britain, and the areas of joint and extended cooperation with the British Council, which reflect the interest in education as a fundamental pillar of progress and prosperity.
Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif stressed the Egyptian state's commitment to providing the best educational practices, and implementing projects aimed at improving the quality of education, praising the efforts and support provided by the British Council to develop the educational process in Egypt.
During the meeting, the Minister reviewed the Ministry's priorities during the coming period, and the mechanisms it has implemented to address the challenges that hindered the educational process, stressing that the Ministry is continuing its efforts in the development process, and the Ministry's priorities are represented in upgrading the educational system to achieve a better future for future generations. The Ministry's strategy also aims to provide high-quality education for all students without discrimination, and also seeks to ensure the sustainability of the educational system by developing the infrastructure, improving curricula and professional development for teachers, and enhancing students' skills to match the requirements of the changing labor market, which ensures that students are provided with modern and necessary skills.
The Minister also spoke about the mechanisms and executive procedures that the Ministry has achieved recently to address the challenges facing the educational process, by dedicating and mobilizing all efforts to overcome these challenges, explaining that student densities in classrooms have been reduced to less than 50 students per class, which has contributed significantly to improving the quality of education, and the attendance rate in schools has increased to about 85%, in addition to addressing the deficit in the number of teachers, in addition to implementing the annual work system and setting controls for it to ensure the discipline and regularity of the educational process.
For her part, Ms. Kate Ewart Biggs, Deputy CEO of the British Council, expressed her happiness with the partnership with the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, pointing to the joint and multiple cooperation programs in the field of pre-university education, and the Council's keenness to continue supporting the Ministry of Education due to its important role in educating children and youth.
The Deputy CEO of the British Council also spoke about the Council's goals to enhance educational opportunities, promote English language programs, and encourage cultural, scientific and educational cooperation with the United Kingdom. Its activities also include educational courses, training programs for teachers, as well as cultural and educational projects.
The Deputy CEO of the British Council indicated that the Council uses the latest technologies and technological tools to improve the education and training process with the aim of providing accurate and detailed reports to measure the impact of training and monitor the performance of trainees, in addition to providing schools with strategies based on self-evaluation to improve educational standards and prepare students for future challenges.
The meeting witnessed discussions on enhancing cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the British Council in several key areas, including professional development for teachers and school principals, in addition to capacity building in the field of integrating students with special educational needs.
The meeting also discussed ways to enhance comprehensive education in all Egyptian schools, in addition to exchanging experiences on how to develop students’ use of educational platforms, and integrating artificial intelligence skills into the educational system.