The government’s plans for education investment and spending in FY 2024-25: Last week, Planning Minister Hala El Said laid out the government’s socioeconomic development plan for FY 2024-25 in an address to the House of Representatives, while Finance Minister Mohamed Maait presented the first-ever consolidated draft government budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The sustainable development plan — which the ministry issues every year to work towards Egypt Vision 2030 — covers planned government spending on several key sectors, including education, infrastructure, the green economy, and manufacturing.

Education spending accounts for about 4.5% of the EGP 6.6 tn of planned government spending for the next fiscal year, with EGP 294.6 bn earmarked across these areas. This figure marks a 28.2% increase from the current fiscal year.

Sound smart: The total allocation for education in the next fiscal year’s budget is EGP 858 bn. The figure, which marks a 45.2% increase from the current fiscal year, also includes the sector’s share of the government debt servicing for the period.

Education investment: The government plans to invest some EGP 71 bn in education and higher education.

Part of a wider plan: The state budget allocates a combined EGP 268 bn — 27% of total public investments for the year — to the education and health sector as well as other social services.

A focus on hiring new teachers: Next year's budget continues where the past few fiscal years left off, with the government increasing investment to fill shortages of teachers and classrooms across the country. The government remains committed to its plan to hire 150k additional teachers and the draft budget allocates EGP 6.6 bn to cover the appointment of 120k medical professionals, teachers, and administrative workers.

And more education infrastructure: The government’s socioeconomic development plan for the upcoming fiscal year aims to construct and develop 16k new classrooms, focusing on governorates with overcrowded classrooms, especially in Cairo, Alexandria, Giza, Beheira, and Fayoum. The strategy also includes refurbishing 13k existing classrooms and 3.5k schools.

That’s not all: The plan also includes completing the campuses of 29 public universities and providing workshop and laboratory equipment for ten technological universities.

A lot of spending on vocational education: The coming year’s budget has allocated some funds to build some 1k vocational classrooms, refurbish some 1.1k existing classrooms, develop and upgrade 200 vocational training schools, and set up 18 applied tech schools.

ICYMI: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi rang in his third term with big education targets. The government plans to increase the funds allocated for education over the coming six years, with plans to increase pre-university education spending to EGP 1.8 tn — more than double the EGP 861 bn allocated for the sector in the last nine years. Public spending on university education in relation to GDP will stay at a minimum of 2% for the coming six-year period.

Dive deeper: We dissected the president’s education investment plan through 2030 in a Blackboard published earlier this year.

Your top education stories for the week:

  • Henkel + GUC: German multinational chemical and consumer goods firm Henkel will provide career support to students of the German University in Cairo under an MoU inked between the two sides. (Statement)
  • University of London to up its Egypt presence: The University of London is planning to add more educational programs to its curriculum offered through its recognized teaching centers in Egypt, with a special focus on scientific and modern tech programs, senior executive team member Alistair Jarvis told Higher Education Minister Ayman Ashour. (Statement)
  • Technical academy for Menoufia: Elsewedy Electric Foundation has partnered with the Housing and Development Bank to establish the Elsewedy & Housing and Development Bank Technical Academy in Sadat City. (Pressrelease)
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