The Minister of Education holds an expanded meeting with 2,600 school principals

Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education, held an expanded meeting with 2,600 school principals for the preparatory and secondary stages across the governorates of the Republic, within the framework of community dialogue sessions on the proposal for the Egyptian Baccalaureate Certificate; to discuss the features of the new system and review opinions and proposals related to it.

At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif praised the extraordinary efforts made by school principals and teachers in all governorates of the Republic, stressing their success in facing the challenge of classroom density and filling the teacher deficit, which resulted in students attending various schools across the Republic at a rate of no less than 85%. He also referred to the efforts of teachers since the beginning of the school year in overcoming the obstacles facing the educational process, thanking and appreciating them for their efforts and mastery of work during the past period on the ground, and that what has been achieved are the achievements of Egypt's teachers, who are its true heroes, as they are the ones who manage the educational process inside the classrooms, and decisions are made through them.

The Minister stressed that the main pillar that is being worked on is to complete the ministry's vision in advancing the educational process and developing solutions and mechanisms for the problems facing the educational system.

The Minister also stressed the importance of the meeting, stressing his keenness to listen to the opinions and suggestions of school principals due to their direct dealings with students and their parents, in addition to their responsibility for managing education within schools, noting that the most important thing in the educational process is classroom management and education management within schools.

The Minister stressed that improving the financial conditions of teachers is a top priority for the Ministry, noting that great efforts are currently being made in this regard.

The Minister reviewed the details of the proposed "Egyptian Baccalaureate" system, noting that the "General Secondary School" system in its current state is a harsh system for students and parents, adding that the current General Secondary School exam determines the fate of the student throughout his life and decides the college he will join and the profession he will work in, and there is no opportunity for the student if he is exposed to any force majeure to change his path or change his future.

The Minister of Education stressed that the current situation of secondary school should have been considered, explaining that the "Egyptian Baccalaureate" proposal is a project that keeps pace with global educational systems and changes of the era, some of which are currently being applied in Egypt.

The Minister explained that the main goal of this proposal is for the student to determine his fate and choose his future himself, noting that through this proposal, he provides a solution to the most important problems facing the current system, which is to give the student the opportunity to improve more than once and give him the opportunity to achieve his dream with his diligence and the path on which he will complete his life.

The Minister pointed out that the proposal for the baccalaureate system was not presented before the beginning of the school year because it requires a community dialogue for a sufficient period of time until there is community consensus on this system, in addition to changing the law and the approval of the House of Representatives, adding that restructuring the secondary stage before the beginning of the school year was necessary in light of the nervous pressure that students were experiencing, so the structure was restructured to reduce the number of subjects and so that teachers could complete the curricula inside schools according to the number of credit hours for each subject.

The Minister added that the Ministry aims, during the community dialogue sessions, to listen carefully to all proposals and visions regarding the Egyptian Baccalaureate proposal in order to reach a consensus formula regarding the proposal, stressing the important role of school principals and teachers in explaining the proposal to students and parents, stressing that the role of the teacher and school principal is to convey awareness, complete knowledge and reassurance messages to parents through periodic meetings held in schools.

The meeting witnessed praise from the attendees for the proposed proposal as it represents a better system than the current secondary school system. The attendees also put forward a number of proposals, including the possibility of including a system of projects and evaluations submitted by students to achieve discipline and raise student attendance rates in secondary school, and developing tools for student activities to attract students to schools, in addition to the importance of intensifying teacher training mechanisms on the new system if it is implemented.

The school principals also praised the efforts and mechanisms that were implemented and the discipline of the educational process during the current academic year, and the periodic meetings held by the Minister with various parties in the educational system to raise problems and challenges and solve them on the ground and the achievements that were made in a short period.