The academic year kicked off with the opening of the first-ever Egyptian-German public school, which is set to be the first of 100 German schools to be opened across the country as part of efforts to expand international partnerships in education. The opening of the school in Sixth of October comes under an initiative by the Education Ministry in partnership with Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, German Embassy Cairo, Goethe-Institut, and the German Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA).

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German will be taught as the first foreign language, with students also studying Arabic and English or French as a second foreign language. The schools will offer a K-12 integrated educational system aligned with both international standards and Egypt’s national curriculum. Students will follow Egyptian programs alongside German curricula designed to strengthen critical thinking, personal development, and multilingual communication.

These schools are part of a broader plan to expand Egypt’s portfolio of dual-certification programs with leading education systems worldwide, a source from the Education Ministry told EnterpriseAM. Upon graduation, students will receive both the Egyptian General Secondary Certificate (Thanaweya Amma) or Egyptian Baccalaureate and an official German language certificate from the Goethe-Institut. This dual certification will qualify them to pursue higher education or vocational training opportunities in Egypt or Germany.

Despite the international focus, the ministry is keen to ensure that Egypt’s national identity remains central to the curriculum. All schools under the initiative are required to teach social studies and religion alongside core subjects. Arabic will remain the main language of instruction, while science and mathematics will be taught in English starting from second grade.

The schools will adopt an interactive education model, which integrates activities to deepen understanding, develop digital skills, promote environmental awareness, and encourage healthy lifestyles. The collaboration will also see student and teacher exchange programs with Germany to provide direct exposure to the German education model.

The launch of the first Egyptian-German public school marks “a real starting point” for helping children and young people open new educational horizons, Goethe-Institut North Africa and Middle East Regional Director Lilli Kobler told EnterpriseAM. The Goethe-Institut is responsible for training teachers and improving their pedagogical skills, Kobler added. The institute also works with education specialists on environmental awareness, cultural and artistic education, and digital learning — and oversees the design and selection of German language curricula.

Introducing German to technical schools is part of the plan, following an MoU inked between the Education Ministry and Goethe-Institut last Thursday, according to an Education Ministry statement. Under the agreement, German will be introduced to a select group of technical schools, which will be expanded upon in the future in accordance with the needs of the Egyptian and German labor markets. German language proficiency certificates from the schools will qualify graduates for work in Germany.

The launch of these schools is part of the government’s larger plan to expand international education partnerships and introduce dual-certificate programs for Egyptian graduates at both pre-university and university levels. It runs in parallel with other partnerships, such as the recent Egypt-Italy collaboration in technical and applied technology education.

The government has also been working with France to significantly increase the number of schools teaching French as a first language, aiming to push them to 100 by 2030. Similarly, Egypt and Italy agreed to introduce Italian as an elective second language in public schools. Public school students will also be able to choose between French, German, or Italian as elective second languages from seventh grade, while new teacher training programs are being rolled out in cooperation with institutions such as the Goethe-Institut and other cultural centers.

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