Minister of Education receives Swiss Ambassador to Egypt
Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education, received Ambassador Yvonne Baumann, Swiss Ambassador to Egypt; to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in the field of pre-university education.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Minister praised the distinguished relations between Egypt and Switzerland in various fields, especially in the field of pre-university education, expressing his appreciation for the Swiss support for the pre-university education sector in Egypt, which is represented in the various cooperation programs that are being implemented, looking forward to more cooperation in various education files and the exchange of expertise between the two countries.
The Minister reviewed the Ministry's efforts during the past period in facing the chronic challenges facing the education system over many years, pointing out in this context to the mechanisms that have been implemented to reduce student densities in classes at the level of the Republic's schools and fill the shortage of teachers, through realistic solutions based on field visits to schools in 20 governorates and intensive meetings with school principals and educational administrations.
For her part, Ambassador Yvonne Baumann praised the success of the Ministry's efforts in facing these challenges, and stressed the importance of continuing cooperation in implementing joint projects between the two countries, appreciating the role of the Ministry of Education in developing the pre-university education system, and looking forward to more bilateral cooperation in the next stage regarding education files, especially with regard to technical and vocational education.
During the meeting, a number of topics of common interest were discussed, including enhancing cooperation in establishing a group of schools in the fields of hotels, modern agriculture and some precision industries, as well as the field of vocational training and education, which contributes to qualifying Egyptian youth for the labor market, as Switzerland has long experience in the field of skills development, technical and vocational education and preparing cadres for the needs of the labor market.
The Ministry of Education was represented by Dr. Iman Sabry, Assistant Minister for Private Education, Ms. Sherine Hamdy, Advisor to the Minister for International Relations and Agreements, and Dr. Amr Basila, Head of the Central Administration for Technical Education Development and Director of the Applied Technology Schools Management Unit. The Swiss Embassy was represented by Ms. Elizabeth Gilgen, Deputy Diplomatic Mission at the Swiss Embassy, and Sara Nour, Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Swiss Association.