The Egyptian government has prioritized education reform in the twenty-first century. In 2014, Egypt was ranked 115 in the Human Development Index (HDI), and 9th in the Middle East and Northern Africa's bottom ten HDI countries. Egypt plans to boost access to children ’s learning and development, as well as the incorporation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at all stages of schooling, particularly at the tertiary level, with the assistance of the World Bank and other multilateral institutions.
Since the year 2007, the overall spending on education was approximately 12.6 percent of total expenditure. Education investment as a percentage of GDP increased to 4.8 in 2005 before falling to 3.7 in 2007. There are also some issues that the Ministry of Education is dealing with; including attempting to shift from a highly centralized system to one that gives individual institutions more autonomy, thereby increasing accountability.
The System of Education in Egypt
Egypt's public education system is divided into three levels for children aged 4-14 years old: first there is kindergarten for 2 years, followed by primary school for 6 years, and then preparatory school (ISCED Level 2) for 3 years. The secondary school (ISCED Level 3) stage lasts three years, from the ages of 15 to 17, and then the university level is followed after that.
Between the ages of 4 and 14, education is made mandatory for 9 academic years. Furthermore, all levels of education are provided free of charge in all government-run schools. There are many differences in the educational fulfilment between the social classes; the rich and the poor which is according to the World Bank that they refer to as the “wealth gap.”
Egypt's National Strategic Plan for Pre-University Education Reform (2007/08–2011/12) was launched. Egypt's dedication to a thorough, viable, and cooperative method of ensuring quality education for all and developing a knowledge economy is reflected in the Strategic Plan. Access and participation, teachers, teaching methods, syllabus and learning assessment, textbooks and study guides, management and governance, and a performance improvement strategy are all important components.
Promotional exams are being taken by all levels, with the exception of grades 6 and 9 in elementary school and grade 12 in secondary school, which use standardized regional or national exams.
The National Center of Curricula Development, the National Center for Education Research, and the National Center for Examinations and Educational Evaluation all help the Ministry of Education make decisions about the education system. Each centre focuses on a different aspect of education policy development in collaboration with other state-level committees. The Ministry of Higher Education is in charge of regulating the higher education system.
For basic and secondary education levels, there is also a formal teacher qualification track in place. To enter the teaching profession, teachers must complete four years of university pre-service courses. The Professional Academy for Teachers offers several programmes that focus on teacher professional development in order to improve math, science, and technology teaching standards. Local educators also participate in international professional development programmes.
The start of the year 2007, the Ministries of Education, Finance, and Local Development (among others) began informal discussions about experimenting with education decentralisation. To make more formal proposals, working groups were formed.
Design work was completed in 2008, and three pilot governorates: Ismailia, Luxor, and Faiyum. They were chosen, as well as monitoring and capacity-building processes and manuals. The method is straightforward, with enrolment, poverty, and educational stage serving as operators.
Schools began to receive funding after funding was decentralized all the way down to the school level in 2009. During late 2009, the pilot had few issues, and the expected outcomes were on track, including energizing local community cooperation, allowing schools to spend more effectively and survey their own needs, and increasing the seriousness of school-based planning by providing a means to fund such plans, among other things. According to a colloquial evaluation of the pilot, the financing formula money resulted in an increase in community donations. According to the survey results, the median value of community donations in the pilot year was 2.20 times that of the previous year.
Corresponding to these endeavors in the schooling area, different areas for instance, certain parts of lodging and city administrations in Egypt are wanting to decentralize dynamic and spending, presently cross country without a pilot stage in restricted governorates, in a staged methodology. Instruction intends to be one of the lead areas in this interaction. Aside from administrative and financial decentralization, there is a growing emphasis on involving elected local popular councils, which exist at the governorate and district levels, in the horizontal oversight of expenditure and planning across the decentralizing sectors, as they come online in the decentralization procedure.
Late 2009, inside the training area, actually 2009 plans are being made to decentralize certain lines of financing and anticipating capital hardware and foundation, in all governorates, right to class level on account of more modest units of capital gear, or levels higher than the school for things like new framework.
The History of Education in Egypt
Under the patronage of Ottoman Pasha Muhammad Ali, who reigned from 1805 to 1848, modern school was established. He established a dual educational system at the time, with one serving the message through traditional Mansourya schools and the other serving the elite civil servants through school. The Mansourya taught understudies the fundamentals of reading and writing by memorizing and discussing Qur'anic passages, with no emphasis on experimentation, critical thinking, or learning-by-doing; the Madrasa, on the other hand, provided a more up-to-date instructive educational. Ali Pasha dispatched two coordinated understudy operations to Paris. By the end of the Pasha's reign, French involvement in Egyptian education had evolved into a government project. The primary mission was an individual undertaking to keep the soul of Napoleon's 1798 campaign alive through social dominion. In 1844, the French government took part in the second student mission. Their colonial interests in North Africa were the driving force behind it. During the time of British guideline in Egypt, the instructive framework stayed dismissed by the provincial government. The longest-serving British occupant in Egypt, Lord Cromer had a negative involvement in schooling in India, where European-style instructive foundations had instigated political agitation and nationalistic feelings. Cromer cut Egypt's education budget, shuttered many specialized postsecondary institutions, and refocused the curriculum on vocational subjects. Tuition fees were introduced, limiting the number of Egyptians who could attend school. After he left Egypt and retired in 1907, these restrictions were eased.
Demographics
Egypt's overall literacy rate was 72 percent in 2010, with male literacy at 80.3 percent and female literacy at 63.5 percent. The government and other NGOs are paying special attention to reducing gender disparities in education and achieving the 2015 Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education.
Egyptian education system is highly centralized, with three stages:
1. Basic Education has 2 stages: Primary Stage and Preparatory Stage
2. Secondary Education
3. Post-Secondary Education
Since 1981, when Egypt's free compulsory education law was expanded to include the Preparatory Stage, the Primary and Preparatory phases, ages 6 to 14, have been grouped together under the label Basic Education. Education beyond this point is contingent on the student's aptitude. Along with the national curriculum, many private schools offer additional educational programs such as the American High School Diploma, the British IGCSE system, the French Baccalaureate, the German Abitur, and the International Baccalaureate. In Egypt, these are the different types of private schools.
Basic Education in Egypt
Pre-primary, primary, and preparatory levels of education ISCED Levels 0, 1, and 2 make up basic education. Preschool education in Egypt is coordinated by the Ministry of Education. The total enrolment rate of pre-primary students was 16% in 1999-2000, and it increased to 24% in 2009. Regardless of whether they are private or public, all preschools are governed by the Ministry of Education. The Ministry is responsible for selecting and distributing textbooks. The maximum size of a preschool, per the Ministry regulations, should not exceed 45 students. The Ministry of Education is also receiving assistance from global organizations such as the World Bank to improve the early childhood education system by increasing school access, improving educational quality, and rising teacher capacity. ISCED Level 1 students could attend private, religious, or government schools in primary school. As of 2007, 7.8 percent of students in primary schools were enrolled in private schools. In 2007, the total number of students enrolled in primary school was 105 percent. Grade 3 examinations are held at the district level. Despite efforts to encourage Egyptian children to attend primary school, educators are frequently unprepared to teach them. Only 7% of Egypt's primary school teachers had a university degree in 1995; the residual 93% had 9 years of education.
The 'preparatory stage' or 'lower secondary,' which lasts three years and is equivalent to ISCED Level 2, is the second tier of basic compulsory education. The Basic Education Completion Certificate is awarded to students who complete this tier. The importance of completing this level of education is to protect students from becoming illiterate, as early dropouts at this stage are more likely to become illiterate.
Secondary Education in Egypt
After having completed Egyptian middle school and passing a national exam, students progress to secondary school, which follows a different path depending on their academic results. There are two types of secondary education: general and technical.
The general secondary stage incorporates only 3 years of education while the technical stage incorporates and could last for 3-5 years.
The sorts of specialized schools in Egypt are separated into mechanical, rural, and business specialized schools and some of them apply the dual system. The Egyptian government recently implemented a new system called Applied Technology Schools in schools. The Egyptian government has taken some steps to improve the governance and reform of the TVET system. A ministerial decree established the Industrial Training Council (ITC) in 2006, with the mission of improving the cooperation and guidance of all training-related entities, projects, and regulations within the Ministry. The global "Technical Education Strategy" (2011/2012-2016/2017) guides its actions. The emphasis on technical education and training aims to address the problem that most businesses face in finding skilled workers: According to Enterprise Surveys from 2007, 31 percent of Egyptian firms consider labor skill level to be the most significant barrier to doing operations in the market.
Al-Azhar Education System in Egypt
The Al-Azhar system is a parallel educational system that runs alongside the public educational system. It is divided into six years of primary school, three years of preparatory school, and three years of secondary school. In order to align the Al Azhar system with the general secondary education system, the Ministry of Education reduced the number of secondary school years from four to three in 1998. There are separate schools for girls and boys in this system as well. The Supreme Council of the Al-Azhar Institution oversees the Al Azhar educational system. Although the Azhar Institution is nominally separate from the Ministry of Education, it is ultimately overseen by Egypt's Prime Minister. The primary, preparatory, and secondary phases of Al Azhar schools are referred to as "Institutes." Religious and non-religious subjects are taught in all schools at all levels. However, religious subjects make up most of the curriculum. The students are all Muslim. Al-Azhar schools can be found throughout the country, particularly in rural areas. Al-Azhar secondary school graduates are eligible to continue their education at Al-Azhar University. In Egypt, there are 8272 Al-Azhar schools as of 2007 and 2008. Al-Azhar schools accounted for less than 4% of total enrollment in the early 2000s. This system's graduates are then automatically admitted to Al-Azhar University. Pre-university enrollment in Al- Azhar institutes was estimated to be around 1,906,290 students in 2007.
Higher Education System in Egypt
Egypt's higher education system is extensive. Approximately 30% of Egyptians in the relevant age group attend university. Only half of them, however, complete their education.
The Ministry of Higher Education oversees tertiary education. There are several universities that cater to students in a variety of fields. There are 17 public universities, 51 public non-university institutions, 16 private universities, and 89 private higher education institutions in the current educational system.
There are 47 two-year middle technical institutes (MTIs) and four four–five-year higher technical institutes among the 51 non-university institutions. Through 2009, the higher education cohort is expected to grow by nearly 6% (60,000) students per year.
A law was passed in 1990 to give universities more independence. However, education infrastructure, equipment, and human resources are still insufficient to meet the growing demand for higher education. The percentage of people enrolled in tertiary education increased from 27% in 2003 to 31% in 2005. However, there has been no comparable increase in funding on enhancing university education in terms of new initiatives and innovations. At both the community level, inspection systems, evaluations, and student assessments of the success of education strategies and the system's efficiency are lacking. The inspection system lacks both solid technical support for teachers and an effective monitoring system for failing schools. The Thanaweyya Amma examination system, which is used at the end of preparatory and secondary school, does not assess higher-order thinking skills and instead focuses on memorizing. Exam specific tutoring can thus significantly raise scores; as a result, students with far more assets can acquire private tutoring, which allows them to score higher on national standardized exams and thus be accepted into Egypt's top universities. As a result, this competitive selection process limits students' degree options and results, forcing them to choose programs and careers that are uninteresting to them.
Egyptian tertiary education is led by a centralized system with institutions that have little control over curriculum decisions, program development and staff and professorship deployment. Working to improve system governance and effectiveness is a pressing challenge, as the higher education system has reached large numbers of people.
Egyptian tertiary education is led by a centralized system with institutions that have little control over curriculum decisions, program development and staff and professorship deployment. Working to improve system governance and effectiveness is a pressing challenge, as the higher education system has reached large numbers of people.
Between 1992/1993 and 1997/1998, the actual number of students who attended university was 18 percent annually. The result was a significant decrease in real expenditure for each student over that period of around 40 percent. It is projected that the higher education cohort will continue to rise by nearly 6% (60,000 students) annually until 2009. This means that the system needs to be introduced to significant efficiencies only to preserve quality at its current inadequate level. Higher education performance and quality are currently greatly impaired by an overly centralized approach to improving the outdated system, fixed curriculum, and teaching practices. Improving system governance and efficiency is a pressing challenge, as the higher education system has reached large numbers of people. Between 1992/93 and 1997/98, the actual number of university students grew by 17% annually. The result was a significant decrease in real expenditure for each student over that period of around 40 percent. It is projected that the higher education cohort will continue to rise by nearly 6% which is about 60,000 students annually until 2009. The Egyptian government recognizes that the sector faces difficult obstacles, the most important of which are the need to greatly enhance sector governance and efficiency, increase institutional autonomy, significantly improve the quality and relevance of higher education programs, and maintain coverage at current levels. The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) is a reform advocate. The Minister, who was appointed in 1997, quickly established a committee for higher education reform, which drew a diverse range of stakeholders, including industrialists and legislators. In February 2000, the President and Prime Minister endorsed a Declaration for Action resulting from the National Conference on Higher Education Reform. In the Declaration, 25 specific reform initiatives were identified.
The Bank endorses and supports the Declaration. A number of multilateral and bilateral organizations, such as the World Bank, support the Declaration's proposals and have committed to assisting with particular factors of the structural reforms.
International Education in Egypt
Egypt had already been listed as 184 international schools by the International Schools Consultancy (ISC) in January 2015. "ISC includes the international school if the school provides a curriculum to a combination of students from preschool or primary or secondary school, wholly or partially in English outside an English-speaking country, or if the school offers English-Medium curricula other than a Country, where English is an official language," Publications including The Economist use this definition.
Agricultural Education in Egypt
By 2010/2011 133 secondary agricultural schools 133 in various cities and districts will be created by the Egyptian Ministry of Education (MoE) aiming at the development of farm knowledge and skills among young people. Agricultural training is divided into a system of three years and five years. The theoretical information taught in the lessons and practical aspects in labs, workshops and farms are available through three years and five years' options. These schools organize with the Agriculture Ministry in order to provide faculty members with training opportunities in agricultural research centers technical farms issues. Schools are provided with agricultural land and graduates in institutions affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture are provided with job opportunities.
Challenges in Egyptian Education
While considerable progress has been made towards raising human capital by improving the education system, the quality of education is still low and unequally distributed. Due to the lack of high quality basic and secondary education, private tutoring has become a mushrooming market. Now it has become more a duty to take private lessons than to take corrective measures. 58% of the families surveyed said that their children are tutoring privately under the Egypt Human Development Report (2005). A survey conducted by CAPMAS (2004) shows that households spend on private education an average of about 61% of total expenditures. In addition, the richest quintile in private tutoring costs per household are more than seven times that of the poorest. [21] The lack of adequate education in public schools and the need for private tuition is amongst the issues. 61-70% of Egyptian students attend private lessons as of 2005. Theft of educational funds and leakage of examinations are common questions.
Egypt lacks skilled and semi-qualified personnel. But the number of low-skilled workers has been abundant. Even if highly qualified workers are available, their training quality is rather poor. This is a problem mostly in small and medium-sized businesses and major public industries operating in "protected" domestic markets. The average per worker gross production is lower than in other countries in North Africa: Morocco and Tunisia. Youth unemployment is also very high, primarily because the necessary training for TVET programs is not provided by the educational system. Because of the quality of teachers in public schools, Egyptian education faces a major challenge. Sarah Hartmann's ethnography study in 2008 concluded that most teachers in Egypt do not have better options and because the character of the job has no difference to their more significant role as mothers. Low salaries in Egypt attract low-skilled employees through the public schooling system. A 1989 study documenting the Egyptian Ministry of Education's bureaucracy has concluded that the average annual wage of teachers in Egypt is $360. A later study in 2011 found that teachers earn an annual average of $460, less than half the country's annual average income. In Egypt they lack a low-quality teacher that allows them to deal with students they have a basic psychological background. In Egyptian schools, corporal punishment is common practice, although it has not been discussed in depth in literature. An example was given to the media in 2011 when a pre-K professor was constantly beaten his students in a video.
A UNESCO study on education equity in the 16 most populous countries worldwide placed Egypt in the middle range of primary and secondary enrolment equity in Egyptian governments. But the results are not very encouraging if the wealth component is added to the education achievement. In wealthier regions, both primary and secondary level, enrolment rates are significantly higher. This confirms the need for more efforts to reduce the wealth gap in education.
Holidays in Egypt
The weekly holidays at school are on Fridays, and sometimes on Thursdays or Saturdays as well. There are two major vacations besides certain official state feasts, religious or secular. The school summer holidays begin in early or mid-June and end in mid-September. Winter holidays begin in mid-January and run until early February.
Education in Egypt
Education in Egypt
Education in Egypt consists of different levels of achievement. Click here to know all the information and more about the system of the Egyptian education.
The Egyptian government has prioritized education reform in the twenty-first century. In 2014, Egypt was ranked 115 in the Human Development Index (HDI), and 9th in the Middle East and Northern Africa's bottom ten HDI countries. Egypt plans to boost access to children ’s learning and development, as well as the incorporation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at all stages of schooling, particularly at the tertiary level, with the assistance of the World Bank and other multilateral institutions.Since the year 2007, the overall spending on education was approximately 12.6 percent of total expenditure. Education investment as a percentage of GDP increased to 4.8 in 2005 before falling to 3.7 in 2007. There are also some issues that the Ministry of Education is dealing with; including attempting to shift from a highly centralized system to one that gives individual institutions more autonomy, thereby increasing accountability. The System of Education in Egypt Egypt's public education system is divided into three levels for children aged 4-14 years old: first there is kindergarten for 2 years, followed by primary school for 6 years, and then preparatory school (ISCED Level 2) for 3 years. The secondary school (ISCED Level 3) stage lasts three years, from the ages of 15 to 17, and then the university level is followed after that.Between the ages of 4 and 14, education is made mandatory for 9 academic years. Furthermore, all levels of education are provided free of charge in all government-run schools. There are many differences in the educational fulfilment between the social classes; the rich and the poor which is according to the World Bank that they refer to as the “wealth gap.”Egypt's National Strategic Plan for Pre-University Education Reform (2007/08–2011/12) was launched. Egypt's dedication to a thorough, viable, and cooperative method of ensuring quality education for all and developing a knowledge economy is reflected in the Strategic Plan. Access and participation, teachers, teaching methods, syllabus and learning assessment, textbooks and study guides, management and governance, and a performance improvement strategy are all important components.Promotional exams are being taken by all levels, with the exception of grades 6 and 9 in elementary school and grade 12 in secondary school, which use standardized regional or national exams.The National Center of Curricula Development, the National Center for Education Research, and the National Center for Examinations and Educational Evaluation all help the Ministry of Education make decisions about the education system. Each centre focuses on a different aspect of education policy development in collaboration with other state-level committees. The Ministry of Higher Education is in charge of regulating the higher education system.For basic and secondary education levels, there is also a formal teacher qualification track in place. To enter the teaching profession, teachers must complete four years of university pre-service courses. The Professional Academy for Teachers offers several programmes that focus on teacher professional development in order to improve math, science, and technology teaching standards. Local educators also participate in international professional development programmes.The start of the year 2007, the Ministries of Education, Finance, and Local Development (among others) began informal discussions about experimenting with education decentralisation. To make more formal proposals, working groups were formed.Design work was completed in 2008, and three pilot governorates: Ismailia, Luxor, and Faiyum. They were chosen, as well as monitoring and capacity-building processes and manuals. The method is straightforward, with enrolment, poverty, and educational stage serving as operators.Schools began to receive funding after funding was decentralized all the way down to the school level in 2009. During late 2009, the pilot had few issues, and the expected outcomes were on track, including energizing local community cooperation, allowing schools to spend more effectively and survey their own needs, and increasing the seriousness of school-based planning by providing a means to fund such plans, among other things. According to a colloquial evaluation of the pilot, the financing formula money resulted in an increase in community donations. According to the survey results, the median value of community donations in the pilot year was 2.20 times that of the previous year.Corresponding to these endeavors in the schooling area, different areas for instance, certain parts of lodging and city administrations in Egypt are wanting to decentralize dynamic and spending, presently cross country without a pilot stage in restricted governorates, in a staged methodology. Instruction intends to be one of the lead areas in this interaction. Aside from administrative and financial decentralization, there is a growing emphasis on involving elected local popular councils, which exist at the governorate and district levels, in the horizontal oversight of expenditure and planning across the decentralizing sectors, as they come online in the decentralization procedure.Late 2009, inside the training area, actually 2009 plans are being made to decentralize certain lines of financing and anticipating capital hardware and foundation, in all governorates, right to class level on account of more modest units of capital gear, or levels higher than the school for things like new framework. The History of Education in Egypt Under the patronage of Ottoman Pasha Muhammad Ali, who reigned from 1805 to 1848, modern school was established. He established a dual educational system at the time, with one serving the message through traditional Mansourya schools and the other serving the elite civil servants through school. The Mansourya taught understudies the fundamentals of reading and writing by memorizing and discussing Qur'anic passages, with no emphasis on experimentation, critical thinking, or learning-by-doing; the Madrasa, on the other hand, provided a more up-to-date instructive educational. Ali Pasha dispatched two coordinated understudy operations to Paris. By the end of the Pasha's reign, French involvement in Egyptian education had evolved into a government project. The primary mission was an individual undertaking to keep the soul of Napoleon's 1798 campaign alive through social dominion. In 1844, the French government took part in the second student mission. Their colonial interests in North Africa were the driving force behind it. During the time of British guideline in Egypt, the instructive framework stayed dismissed by the provincial government. The longest-serving British occupant in Egypt, Lord Cromer had a negative involvement in schooling in India, where European-style instructive foundations had instigated political agitation and nationalistic feelings. Cromer cut Egypt's education budget, shuttered many specialized postsecondary institutions, and refocused the curriculum on vocational subjects. Tuition fees were introduced, limiting the number of Egyptians who could attend school. After he left Egypt and retired in 1907, these restrictions were eased. Demographics Egypt's overall literacy rate was 72 percent in 2010, with male literacy at 80.3 percent and female literacy at 63.5 percent. The government and other NGOs are paying special attention to reducing gender disparities in education and achieving the 2015 Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education. Egyptian education system is highly centralized, with three stages: 1. Basic Education has 2 stages: Primary Stage and Preparatory Stage2. Secondary Education3. Post-Secondary Education Since 1981, when Egypt's free compulsory education law was expanded to include the Preparatory Stage, the Primary and Preparatory phases, ages 6 to 14, have been grouped together under the label Basic Education. Education beyond this point is contingent on the student's aptitude. Along with the national curriculum, many private schools offer additional educational programs such as the American High School Diploma, the British IGCSE system, the French Baccalaureate, the German Abitur, and the International Baccalaureate. In Egypt, these are the different types of private schools. Basic Education in Egypt Pre-primary, primary, and preparatory levels of education ISCED Levels 0, 1, and 2 make up basic education. Preschool education in Egypt is coordinated by the Ministry of Education. The total enrolment rate of pre-primary students was 16% in 1999-2000, and it increased to 24% in 2009. Regardless of whether they are private or public, all preschools are governed by the Ministry of Education. The Ministry is responsible for selecting and distributing textbooks. The maximum size of a preschool, per the Ministry regulations, should not exceed 45 students. The Ministry of Education is also receiving assistance from global organizations such as the World Bank to improve the early childhood education system by increasing school access, improving educational quality, and rising teacher capacity. ISCED Level 1 students could attend private, religious, or government schools in primary school. As of 2007, 7.8 percent of students in primary schools were enrolled in private schools. In 2007, the total number of students enrolled in primary school was 105 percent. Grade 3 examinations are held at the district level. Despite efforts to encourage Egyptian children to attend primary school, educators are frequently unprepared to teach them. Only 7% of Egypt's primary school teachers had a university degree in 1995; the residual 93% had 9 years of education. The 'preparatory stage' or 'lower secondary,' which lasts three years and is equivalent to ISCED Level 2, is the second tier of basic compulsory education. The Basic Education Completion Certificate is awarded to students who complete this tier. The importance of completing this level of education is to protect students from becoming illiterate, as early dropouts at this stage are more likely to become illiterate. Secondary Education in Egypt After having completed Egyptian middle school and passing a national exam, students progress to secondary school, which follows a different path depending on their academic results. There are two types of secondary education: general and technical. The general secondary stage incorporates only 3 years of education while the technical stage incorporates and could last for 3-5 years.The sorts of specialized schools in Egypt are separated into mechanical, rural, and business specialized schools and some of them apply the dual system. The Egyptian government recently implemented a new system called Applied Technology Schools in schools. The Egyptian government has taken some steps to improve the governance and reform of the TVET system. A ministerial decree established the Industrial Training Council (ITC) in 2006, with the mission of improving the cooperation and guidance of all training-related entities, projects, and regulations within the Ministry. The global Technical Education Strategy (2011/2012-2016/2017) guides its actions. The emphasis on technical education and training aims to address the problem that most businesses face in finding skilled workers: According to Enterprise Surveys from 2007, 31 percent of Egyptian firms consider labor skill level to be the most significant barrier to doing operations in the market. Al-Azhar Education System in Egypt The Al-Azhar system is a parallel educational system that runs alongside the public educational system. It is divided into six years of primary school, three years of preparatory school, and three years of secondary school. In order to align the Al Azhar system with the general secondary education system, the Ministry of Education reduced the number of secondary school years from four to three in 1998. There are separate schools for girls and boys in this system as well. The Supreme Council of the Al-Azhar Institution oversees the Al Azhar educational system. Although the Azhar Institution is nominally separate from the Ministry of Education, it is ultimately overseen by Egypt's Prime Minister. The primary, preparatory, and secondary phases of Al Azhar schools are referred to as Institutes. Religious and non-religious subjects are taught in all schools at all levels. However, religious subjects make up most of the curriculum. The students are all Muslim. Al-Azhar schools can be found throughout the country, particularly in rural areas. Al-Azhar secondary school graduates are eligible to continue their education at Al-Azhar University. In Egypt, there are 8272 Al-Azhar schools as of 2007 and 2008. Al-Azhar schools accounted for less than 4% of total enrollment in the early 2000s. This system's graduates are then automatically admitted to Al-Azhar University. Pre-university enrollment in Al- Azhar institutes was estimated to be around 1,906,290 students in 2007. Higher Education System in Egypt Egypt's higher education system is extensive. Approximately 30% of Egyptians in the relevant age group attend university. Only half of them, however, complete their education. The Ministry of Higher Education oversees tertiary education. There are several universities that cater to students in a variety of fields. There are 17 public universities, 51 public non-university institutions, 16 private universities, and 89 private higher education institutions in the current educational system. There are 47 two-year middle technical institutes (MTIs) and four four–five-year higher technical institutes among the 51 non-university institutions. Through 2009, the higher education cohort is expected to grow by nearly 6% (60,000) students per year. A law was passed in 1990 to give universities more independence. However, education infrastructure, equipment, and human resources are still insufficient to meet the growing demand for higher education. The percentage of people enrolled in tertiary education increased from 27% in 2003 to 31% in 2005. However, there has been no comparable increase in funding on enhancing university education in terms of new initiatives and innovations. At both the community level, inspection systems, evaluations, and student assessments of the success of education strategies and the system's efficiency are lacking. The inspection system lacks both solid technical support for teachers and an effective monitoring system for failing schools. The Thanaweyya Amma examination system, which is used at the end of preparatory and secondary school, does not assess higher-order thinking skills and instead focuses on memorizing. Exam specific tutoring can thus significantly raise scores; as a result, students with far more assets can acquire private tutoring, which allows them to score higher on national standardized exams and thus be accepted into Egypt's top universities. As a result, this competitive selection process limits students' degree options and results, forcing them to choose programs and careers that are uninteresting to them. Egyptian tertiary education is led by a centralized system with institutions that have little control over curriculum decisions, program development and staff and professorship deployment. Working to improve system governance and effectiveness is a pressing challenge, as the higher education system has reached large numbers of people.Egyptian tertiary education is led by a centralized system with institutions that have little control over curriculum decisions, program development and staff and professorship deployment. Working to improve system governance and effectiveness is a pressing challenge, as the higher education system has reached large numbers of people. Between 1992/1993 and 1997/1998, the actual number of students who attended university was 18 percent annually. The result was a significant decrease in real expenditure for each student over that period of around 40 percent. It is projected that the higher education cohort will continue to rise by nearly 6% (60,000 students) annually until 2009. This means that the system needs to be introduced to significant efficiencies only to preserve quality at its current inadequate level. Higher education performance and quality are currently greatly impaired by an overly centralized approach to improving the outdated system, fixed curriculum, and teaching practices. Improving system governance and efficiency is a pressing challenge, as the higher education system has reached large numbers of people. Between 1992/93 and 1997/98, the actual number of university students grew by 17% annually. The result was a significant decrease in real expenditure for each student over that period of around 40 percent. It is projected that the higher education cohort will continue to rise by nearly 6% which is about 60,000 students annually until 2009. The Egyptian government recognizes that the sector faces difficult obstacles, the most important of which are the need to greatly enhance sector governance and efficiency, increase institutional autonomy, significantly improve the quality and relevance of higher education programs, and maintain coverage at current levels. The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) is a reform advocate. The Minister, who was appointed in 1997, quickly established a committee for higher education reform, which drew a diverse range of stakeholders, including industrialists and legislators. In February 2000, the President and Prime Minister endorsed a Declaration for Action resulting from the National Conference on Higher Education Reform. In the Declaration, 25 specific reform initiatives were identified. The Bank endorses and supports the Declaration. A number of multilateral and bilateral organizations, such as the World Bank, support the Declaration's proposals and have committed to assisting with particular factors of the structural reforms. International Education in Egypt Egypt had already been listed as 184 international schools by the International Schools Consultancy (ISC) in January 2015. ISC includes the international school if the school provides a curriculum to a combination of students from preschool or primary or secondary school, wholly or partially in English outside an English-speaking country, or if the school offers English-Medium curricula other than a Country, where English is an official language, Publications including The Economist use this definition. Agricultural Education in Egypt By 2010/2011 133 secondary agricultural schools 133 in various cities and districts will be created by the Egyptian Ministry of Education (MoE) aiming at the development of farm knowledge and skills among young people. Agricultural training is divided into a system of three years and five years. The theoretical information taught in the lessons and practical aspects in labs, workshops and farms are available through three years and five years' options. These schools organize with the Agriculture Ministry in order to provide faculty members with training opportunities in agricultural research centers technical farms issues. Schools are provided with agricultural land and graduates in institutions affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture are provided with job opportunities. Challenges in Egyptian Education While considerable progress has been made towards raising human capital by improving the education system, the quality of education is still low and unequally distributed. Due to the lack of high quality basic and secondary education, private tutoring has become a mushrooming market. Now it has become more a duty to take private lessons than to take corrective measures. 58% of the families surveyed said that their children are tutoring privately under the Egypt Human Development Report (2005). A survey conducted by CAPMAS (2004) shows that households spend on private education an average of about 61% of total expenditures. In addition, the richest quintile in private tutoring costs per household are more than seven times that of the poorest. [21] The lack of adequate education in public schools and the need for private tuition is amongst the issues. 61-70% of Egyptian students attend private lessons as of 2005. Theft of educational funds and leakage of examinations are common questions. Egypt lacks skilled and semi-qualified personnel. But the number of low-skilled workers has been abundant. Even if highly qualified workers are available, their training quality is rather poor. This is a problem mostly in small and medium-sized businesses and major public industries operating in protected domestic markets. The average per worker gross production is lower than in other countries in North Africa: Morocco and Tunisia. Youth unemployment is also very high, primarily because the necessary training for TVET programs is not provided by the educational system. Because of the quality of teachers in public schools, Egyptian education faces a major challenge. Sarah Hartmann's ethnography study in 2008 concluded that most teachers in Egypt do not have better options and because the character of the job has no difference to their more significant role as mothers. Low salaries in Egypt attract low-skilled employees through the public schooling system. A 1989 study documenting the Egyptian Ministry of Education's bureaucracy has concluded that the average annual wage of teachers in Egypt is $360. A later study in 2011 found that teachers earn an annual average of $460, less than half the country's annual average income. In Egypt they lack a low-quality teacher that allows them to deal with students they have a basic psychological background. In Egyptian schools, corporal punishment is common practice, although it has not been discussed in depth in literature. An example was given to the media in 2011 when a pre-K professor was constantly beaten his students in a video. A UNESCO study on education equity in the 16 most populous countries worldwide placed Egypt in the middle range of primary and secondary enrolment equity in Egyptian governments. But the results are not very encouraging if the wealth component is added to the education achievement. In wealthier regions, both primary and secondary level, enrolment rates are significantly higher. This confirms the need for more efforts to reduce the wealth gap in education. Holidays in Egypt The weekly holidays at school are on Fridays, and sometimes on Thursdays or Saturdays as well. There are two major vacations besides certain official state feasts, religious or secular. The school summer holidays begin in early or mid-June and end in mid-September. Winter holidays begin in mid-January and run until early February.