Minister of Education as a guest of the "Future of the Nation" Party to present the Ministry's vision
Minister of Education and Technical Education, Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, participated in a dialogue seminar organized by the "Future of the Nation Party", during which he reviewed the Ministry's strategy for developing the pre-university education system, and highlighted the most prominent features of the proposed "Egyptian Baccalaureate" certificate.
Participating in the seminar were MP Ahmed Abdel Gawad, Vice President of the Party and Secretary-General, MP Alaa Abed, Vice President of the Party and Head of the Transportation and Communications Committee in the House of Representatives, MP Sami Hashem, Secretary of Education and Central Scientific Research of the Party and Head of the Education and Scientific Research Committee in the House of Representatives, heads of committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate, members of the Central Secretariat of the Party, Assistant Secretaries-General of the Party, and the Central Organization Secretariat Office.
On behalf of the Ministry of Education, Dr. Ahmed Al-Mohammadi, Assistant Minister for Strategic Planning and Follow-up, and Dr. Akram Hassan, Assistant Minister for Curriculum Development, also participated.
During the symposium, Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif stressed that the education development strategy is stable, and the ministry is working to implement it through well-studied mechanisms and programs aimed at improving the quality of education, and enhancing critical thinking and innovation among students.
Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif pointed out that the ministry has held, during the past months, extensive discussion sessions, which included more than 17,000 teachers, school principals, and educational administration directors, and more than 350 schools in 21 governorates were visited, with the aim of involving all parties of the education system in decisions and mechanisms aimed at overcoming the challenges that hinder the development of the education system.
The minister added that the ministry has succeeded in addressing the problem of student density, as the number of students in classes has been reduced to less than 50 students across the country's schools by 99%, and has succeeded in creating up to 98,000 classrooms, in addition to overcoming the deficit in the number of teachers through many solutions and mechanisms, stressing that there is currently no school in Egypt that does not include a basic subject teacher.
The Minister added that the Ministry has taken several decisions and implemented many mechanisms before the start of the school year with the aim of controlling the educational system and returning students to schools, stressing that the attendance rate during the current school year reached 85% compared to a rate ranging between 9-15% last school year.
Regarding the decisions taken regarding restructuring the secondary stage before the start of the school year, the Minister explained that the aim is to provide the teacher with the opportunity to provide a good educational process inside the classroom, with a number of approved hours for basic subjects.
The Minister also reviewed the proposal for the "Egyptian Baccalaureate" certificate system, stressing that it aims to develop the secondary school system by enhancing critical and creative thinking skills, and linking education to the labor market, noting that the proposal for the Egyptian Baccalaureate certificate seeks to give students multiple opportunities for evaluation, instead of relying on the one-chance exam that determines the fate of the student's future, which contributes to reducing pressure on students and their families, and it also includes a number of tracks that the student can choose from in line with his abilities and skills, which prepares him for the university education stage.
He pointed out that the ministry held several community dialogue sessions on the proposal for the "Egyptian Baccalaureate" certificate and is open to listening to all opinions and suggestions with the aim of reaching a final vision that enjoys societal consensus from all parties, noting that full coordination was made with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research before presenting the proposal to ensure the integration of educational tracks with the university education stage.
The minister also touched on the technical education system, stressing that technical education represents the future of Egypt, referring to the model of applied technology schools that the ministry seeks to expand in various specializations and in partnership with the private sector and international bodies with the aim of graduating students with advanced professional skills that meet the needs of the labor market, noting that the number of schools currently amounts to 82 applied technology schools and the ministry seeks with all its efforts to expand this type of schools.
For his part, MP Ahmed Abdel Gawad, the party's vice president and secretary-general, pointed out that today's session is the seventh in a series of periodic seminars organized by the Central Secretariat of the Future of the Nation Party with members of the government. These sessions aim to enhance cooperation between the executive bodies and the party, expressing the party's readiness to employ all organizational tools to support the development plans implemented by the Egyptian state.
MP Ahmed Abdel Gawad also assigned Dr. Sami Hashem, the party's central secretary of education and scientific research, to hold community dialogue meetings on the baccalaureate certificate system, to discuss the positives and negatives of the system, until the law is presented in the House of Representatives and the Senate and the recommendations are presented to the party's central secretariat for discussion.
MP Alaa Abed, the party's vice president, also called for the need to pay attention to the teacher and curricula within the framework of developing the educational system.
In the same context, MP Sami Hashem pointed out that the teacher is the basis of the learning process, and therefore it is necessary to advance the teacher socially and economically, enhance his role, and take into account technological progress.
For his part, Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif thanked the "Future of the Nation" party for the initiatives it organizes in all governorates of the republic in support of the educational process, stressing his keenness to hold various meetings to present the ministry's vision on developing the educational system and the efforts it has made during the past period in facing challenges. On the sidelines of the symposium, members of the Future of the Nation party raised questions and requests from citizens about the educational process and the baccalaureate system, to hear the ministry's vision on the nature of the baccalaureate system and its advantages, in addition to the ministry's efforts to confront the phenomenon of private lessons and other issues.