Minister of Education holds a discussion session with members of the Syndicate of Educational Professions
Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education, held a meeting today with members of the General Syndicate of Educational Professions, in the presence of Mr. Khalaf Al-Zanati, Head of the Teachers Syndicate and President of the Arab Teachers Union; This is within the framework of community dialogue sessions on the proposal of the "Egyptian Baccalaureate Certificate System" to discuss the features of the system and review opinions and proposals related to it.
At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif expressed his deep appreciation for the efforts made by the General Syndicate of Educational Professions in supporting teachers and seeking to improve their working conditions in a way that contributes to creating an effective and stimulating educational environment, stressing his firm belief in the pivotal role of the teacher, and that any effort to develop education or modernize the educational system will only be made through the efforts of teachers, who represent the basic element in advancing the educational process.
The Minister also appreciated the constructive dialogue he witnessed during his many meetings with teachers across the country, with the aim of upgrading the educational system, stressing that teachers are responsible for the success of the educational process due to their presence in the field, and they are also responsible for implementing the education development strategy, and their opinions are the main criterion for its feasibility on the ground.
The Minister touched on the motivation behind the decision to partially restructure the secondary stage, which is due to the large number of subjects that would have been studied by about 3 million students who will join this stage and the financial and psychological burden that this represents on the shoulders of students and their parents, in addition to the inability of teachers to complete the curricula on time, which may force the student to resort to external sources, adding that it was not possible to leave these students and their parents in this suffering.
The Minister pointed out that the secondary school exam is viewed as an exam that qualifies for university admission, while it determines the fate of the student who cannot change his path as a result of the one-chance exam, so this system was introduced, which qualifies the student and gives him multiple opportunities and arms him with the required skills.
During the meeting, the Minister reviewed the proposal for the "Egyptian Baccalaureate System", explaining that the Ministry aims to establish an approved system that keeps pace with the current international educational systems, in which the student studies a smaller number of subjects, compared to the Egyptian high school student, and the subjects are divided over two years by giving them the opportunity to study separate subjects and not connected ones, and the student obtains an integrated system with a number of approved international hours, provided that the subject is completed in one academic year, so that this system is consistent with the best international systems in education.
The Minister explained that reducing the number of subjects does not mean a difference in the expected learning outcomes, noting that this matter has been studied with more than one party to ensure maintaining the same educational outcomes, noting that the basic criterion in this system is to achieve the best possible benefit for the student and relieve the burden on the family.
For his part, Khalaf Al-Zanati, the head of the Teachers Syndicate, praised the state's decision to launch a community dialogue on the "Egyptian Baccalaureate" project. He also commended the decisions of Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif, which have made a difference since the beginning of the current academic year, and the tangible development in the educational process, which resulted in finding quick solutions to two crises that have persisted for decades, namely solving the problems of overcrowded classrooms and the shortage of teachers, which was positively reflected in students' regularity in schools. He pointed out that the success of the ministry's efforts is an achievement that reflects the state's commitment to achieving a suitable educational environment that allows students to interact better with teachers and benefit from the educational process to the fullest.
The head of the Teachers Syndicate stressed the agreement of the Teachers Syndicate on the philosophy, vision and goals of the "Egyptian Baccalaureate" project, and the urgent need to develop high school, which has become a psychological burden on society, in addition to the goal of reducing reliance on private lessons. This proposal also ends the state of anxiety and tension among high school students and gives them multiple opportunities to achieve their dream.
He added that the vision of the Teachers Syndicate is consistent with the vision of the Ministry regarding the objectives of the Egyptian Baccalaureate Certificate, which seeks to achieve educational quality that qualifies students for universities and meets the needs of the labor market, and not just changing the name of the secondary school certificate or having repeated exam attempts as happened previously in the improvement system that was canceled.
The head of the Teachers Syndicate made several observations on the proposal of the "Egyptian Baccalaureate System", explaining that this system requires achieving a high level of quality required in the educational process, and requires comprehensive development of the infrastructure in schools, including technology, laboratories, and deliberate training of teachers using modern training methods.
Khalaf Al-Zanati also expressed the agreement of the Teachers Syndicate's vision with the Ministry of Education regarding the proposal to add the subject of religious education to the total, which will reflect on increasing students' interest in good principles, values, and morals, adding that it should not turn into a competitive subject among students, and that the study of religion should be in the form of activities that are implemented throughout the academic year and through which the student obtains grades that are collected at the end of the year.
During the meeting, members of the Education Professions Syndicate praised the Minister’s efforts in solving the chronic problems that have faced the educational process over many years. They also appreciated the efforts made in the community dialogue sessions for the various groups to include all proposals and opinions that ultimately contribute to achieving complete community consensus on the proposal.
The meeting also witnessed the presentation of a number of proposals regarding the mechanisms for implementing the proposal if it is approved, including that there be an accredited body that supervises the training of teachers on the new materials within the framework of the new system, and that the training have governance mechanisms based on measuring the impact of the training and its success through quality review. A proposal was also presented to establish a platform for the materials that will be taught and to be an interactive platform for communication between the teachers of the subject and the students.