A new and improved public education system that would replace thanawiya ‘amma exams with a standardized SAT-style test for high school students could be coming into effect by the start of the 2018 school year, Education Minister Tarek Shawky said, according to Al Masry Al Youm. The overhaul aims to tackle the key issues facing the public system — including teacher salaries and the need for increasingly expensive private lessons — and break from rote learning. The minister also hopes to bring more technology into the learning process, he said, and is considering introducing online learning modules to reduce classroom crowding in public schools, the newspaper says. Shawky discussed his plans with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail at a meeting on Sunday at which the conversation also extended to finding solutions to the issue of rising private and international school tuition fees, Al Mal says.