Education spending is set to increase 20% in the draft budget for the coming fiscal year, rising to EGP 442.3 bn from EGP 352.4 bn in the previous 12-month period, according to government documents reviewed by EnterpriseAM. The above-inflation planned increase follows talk from government quarters in recent months that education and health would stand out as two main priorities for the state’s plan for the fiscal year starting July.

Why this matters: The increase in education spending amid broader fiscal pressures signals a clear policy prioritization of the sector as a central lever for improving human capital and supporting the transition toward a knowledge-based economy. This positions education at the core of Egypt’s development agenda in the coming years, rather than as a traditional social expenditure line.

Pre-university funding is set to rise 11.5% y-o-y, much of which will help the construction or replacing of some 13k classrooms, the development of some 1.6k schools, and expanding the Egyptian-Japanese school model with 100 additional schools. Technical education stands out as a priority, with ten new applied technology schools planned, in addition to upgrading 1k technical schools with help from the private sector.

Digital literacy and using digital tools to improve education also continues to be a key focus, with some 1.2 mn tablets to be distributed to general secondary and technical school students under the plan.

Teacher shortages and retention issues will be addressed with additional net incentive payments, set to range from EGP 1-1.1k per month, alongside an EGP 1k increase in the general minimum salary starting in July.

Higher education funding will rise 11.0% y-o-y to support the continued development and establishment of 29 public universities and 12 technological universities. Some 147 university hospitals will also have funds directed toward them for improvements, and 60 will undergo a government-led digitalization push.

The plan for the fiscal year includes research spending increasing 15% y-o-y, along with 1.3k scholarships and the redevelopment of 13 research centers.

But Al Azhar institutions will see the biggest funding increase, with a planned 27.6% increase in allocated funding that will help build 103 new education centers, renovate a further 142, and further develop 200 existing centers, part of a digitalization push.

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