Big education targets for El Sisi’s third term: Between building more schools andlowering the illiteracy rate in the country, the government’s education targets are ambitious for President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s third term, according to what has been laid out in the Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center’s recently released report (pdf).

** Read more: We have already dissected other aspects of the report, including thegovernment’s economic, green energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing targets through 2030.

MORE EDUCATION SPENDING-

The government plans to increase the funds allocated for education over the coming sixyears, 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.

WHERE IS IT ALL GOING?

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More schools, more teachers, and more classrooms. The Madbouly government has some big plans for the education sector for the coming six years and increasing the number of schools in the country is among the main priorities. Over El Sisi’s new term, the state will:

  • Increase the number of Japanese schools from 81 schools in 2023 to 200 schools.
  • Up the number of applied technology schools from 54 schools in 2023 to 140.
  • Increase the number of schools for gifted students from 21 schools in 2023 to 50.

More schools means more teachers: The Education Ministry plans to hire around 30kassistant teachers in the short term at an annual cost of about EGP 1.4 bn.

Classrooms won’t be as crowded: The number of classrooms will increase by about 105kuntil 2030, which will help reduce the number of students per classroom to an average of 35 by the end of the decade, compared to about 45 students per class in 2023.

Wi-fi for all: All of the country’s schools are set to have access to speedy internet by the end ofthe decade. Students will be able to access the internet through the 700k tablets and 1k smart screens the government plans to supply schools in the short term.

More public-private partnerships in vocational education: The government aims to grow thenumber of vocational schools in Egypt to 756 and establish ten applied technology schools in partnership with the private sector by the year 2030. The Education Ministry previously introduced a package of incentives and perks designed to reel in more private sector partners to develop vocational and technical schools.

In the short term: Authorities will work to set up ten tech universities in a number of unidentified governorates over the coming period, with hopes to set up a technological university in each governorate by 2030.

Financial assistance for uni students: The government will offer more financial support through need-based scholarships and student loans under a new system all about helping university students financially.

OTHER NOTABLE EDUCATION TARGETS-

#1- More elementary school students: The state is aiming to more than double the netenrollment rate — the ratio of elementary school age children who are enrolled in schools to the total number of elementary school age children.

#2- No more elementary school dropouts: The government is looking to bring the number of elementary school dropouts to zero.

#3- More kindergarteners: The state wants to see no less than 80% of the country’s 4-6 year olds enrolled in kindergartens — up from 30% in the last fiscal year.

#4- Lower illiteracy rates: The government wants to carry out a presidential initiative to reduce the country’s illiteracy rate to 7% by 2030 — over 17% of individuals below the age of 45 are illiterate, according to 2022 figures (pdf) from state statistics agency Capmas.

#5- Better ranked unis: The government aspires to have no less than 28 Egyptian universitieson the QS World University Rankings. Egypt currently holds the lead position on the continent level in the QS World University Rankings 2024, with 15 ranked universities.

Your top education stories for the week:

  • Upskilling workers for int’l labor markets: The government wants to help 1 mnEgyptians access labor markets in developed countries by 2030 by providing specialized training programs.
  • Exam signup now open: Students can now electronically register for their 2023-2024Thanaweya Amma exams via the Education Ministry’s website. The registration deadline is 22 February. (Statement)
  • Education cooperation with Portugal, Switzerland: Higher Education Minister Ayman Ashour met with Portuguese and Swiss officials to discuss cooperation in the education sector. Discussions with the Portuguese side centered around setting up a branch of the University of Aveiro in Egypt. (Statement | Statement)
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