Education for All in Egypt 2000-2015
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Egypt Education for All 2015 National Review This report was prepared by the relevant national authorities in view of the World Education Forum (Incheon, Republic of Korea, 19‐22 May 2015). It was submitted in response to UNESCO’s invitation to its Member States to assess progress made since 2000 towards achieving Education for All (EFA). The views and opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not commit UNESCO. The designations employed and the presentation of material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The paper can be cited with the following reference: “Education for All 2015 National Review Report: Egypt”. For further information, please contact: [email protected] The Report Team Prof. Dr. Jihan Kamal Mohamed General Supervision Prof. Dr. Salah ElDin Abdel Aziz Ghoneim Head of the report team Dr. Reda Mohamed Abdel-Sattar Member Dr. Amal Syed Masood Member Dr. Hanan Mohamed Rabie Member Dr. Amany Mohammed Salah Member Dr. Eman Mohammed Shawki Member Language Revision: Dr. Akram Ibrahim Qahoof Dr. Eman Ahmed Mohammed Hussein Elian Writing and coordination: Magda Al Maghraby Hanaa Boles This report was commissioned and supported by the UNESCO Office in Cairo a "Whenever we make our children's lives brighter, the brighter future of our country" A young student at a school in Minya, Upper Egypt. (photo: Sean Sprague) Forward by: Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Abo Elnasr Minister of Education, Egypt Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Educational Research and Development Education is considered the greatest national project in Egypt and is on the top of national priorities. The education strategic plan (2014-2030) "Together We Can" has made education a right for all, in addition to making the achievement of this goal a collaborative, collective responsibility of all the society institutions in a frame of a decentralized system promoting quality education and creating the culture of participation. Egypt is keen on promoting education through commitment to the principles and directives of the international community since Jometien Conference (1990) that started the EFA initiative. These principles were emphasized in Dakar Forum (2000) and the Declaration of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). MOE vision is based on some pivots, which are: an effective school that could provide a high quality education for all, preparing distinguished teachers with a high level of professionalism and expertise, could implement the learner-centered programs and curricula that mirror the local community needs, and support scientific and creative thinking, through an advanced technology included in the educational process, in a framework of community participation to enhance the quality of educational for all and a distinguished educational administration based on transparency, accountability, and informatics in a decentralized framework. In the light of a clear educational view that emphasizes all the previous considerations, the goals of the educational policy have stressed the achievement of accessibility, quality of education and efficiency of institutional systems. The Egyptian government, represented in the MOE and assisted by other ministries and other official and NGOs, is committed to the 'Provision of EFA. The MOE is also committed to providing education to deprived people. In this respect, cooperation with regional and international corporations is essential. b The constitution of 2014 ensured, through the articles concerned with education, the increasing importance of education and the interest by the State in education as it is an issue of national security and as a basic right for all like water and air, and that education is forefront of progress and prosperity. It ensured also that education is free and compulsory until the end of the secondary stage or its equivalent. The State is working hard to seek sources to finance and develop education. Through persistent endeavors for disseminating Education For All in Egypt, MOE establishes the conditions suitable for providing real education for every learner focusing on ensuring the quality of education. Based on renewing our commitment and striving to achieve EFA six goals, it is hoped we can fulfill our desired goals. Dr. Mahmoud Abo Elnasr Minister of Education, Egypt Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Educational Research and Development c Preface by Prof. Dr. Jihan Kamal Director of the National Center for Educational Research and Development The National Center for Educational Research and Development is pleased to give help for this issue of the report of the Education for All, in line with the goals of the Ministry of Education to prepare citizens for the knowledge society in the light of a new social contract based on democracy, and achieving educational opportunities for all. This issue of this report of the Education for All comes in line with the policy pursued by the Ministry of Education under the Education Strategic Plan (2014-2030), which is based on several pillars: firstly availability to provide equal educational opportunities for all by building new classrooms, achieving social justice and establishing schools and cooperation with the ministries, associations and donors. The second pillar is quality assurance in the educational process through the reform and improvement of school buildings and school climate, curriculum development and improving the performance of teachers. The third pillar concerns with the management of education system to reconsider the laws and regulations, in addition to improving the quality and efficiency of the planning and evaluation and to maximize the financial resources to the education sector. This report confirms what commitments made by Egypt to implement the recommendations of the World Conference on Education for All held in Dakar (2000) to achieve the EFA goals, through: - Expanding and improving comprehensive care and education in early childhood. - Enabling all children to attend free compulsory primary education by 2015. - Meeting all the needs of education for all young people and adults. - Removing gender disparities in basic education. This report also provides monitoring of education for all in Egypt that can offer a picture of status quo, and the progress towards the achievement of the global goals in the field of education, adopted in Dakar (2000), as well as the it makes a strong case for the size of d currently education development and the major challenges facing the future. In this regard, I'd like on behalf of Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Abul Nasr, the Minister of Education and Chairman of the center, and on behalf of all researchers of the center and myself to express my gratitude to everyone who contributed to the completion of this report and the special mention of Prof. Dr. Salah Eldin Abdel Aziz Ghoneim, the head of the educational planning research unit and the assistant team, for their professional performance that has a wonderful impact on this great achievement. We ask God to guide us to what is good for our beloved Egypt. Director of the National Center for Educational Research and Development Prof. Dr. Jihan Kamal Mohamed e Introduction by Prof. Dr. Salah ElDin Ghoneim Head of Educational Planning Research Unit National Center for Educational Research and Development The report of the Education for All in Egypt is coming as a mechanism for monitoring efforts in order to achieve the six goals of Education for All at the national level. Egypt has adopted an education policy based on a holistic view that has been translated in the long-term strategic plan runs from 2014 until 2030. The confluence of visions and orientations between the policy of the Egyptian government in achieving education for all, and orientations and proposals of the global reports for monitoring for Education for All in previous years, confirms the will of Egypt to meet its obligations, and its steadfast determination to redouble efforts to achieve the goals of Education for All and through honest cooperation with partners at the international, regional and local levels. For that reason, Egypt has a future strategy emphasizes that education is a human right and a necessity for the homeland and citizens together, and the need to provide human resources with growing capacity and efficiency, and the highest degree of quality and professional ethics, in order to build a society based on learning and knowledge-based economy. To achieve this vision, The Ministry of Education has a mission of leadership, management and development of the pre university education sector to respond to the needs of the social, economic and cultural rights of the Egyptian society and national identity in line with the global trends. Hence, providing opportunities of basic education for all is not only in response to the decisions of the Jomtien Conference in 1990, and the subsequent announcements such as the Dakar Declaration in 2000, but it is an essential part of the process of development and modernization of education in Egypt, to achieve human development and meet the challenges of the future. Modernization and development of basic education in Egypt is an ongoing process, and also ensure that the need to enhance the opportunities and work to expand its scope to include every human being f who wants and is able to embrace the continuing human development in every sense of economic, social and humanitarian implications State is also seeking to expand and extend the obligation to further stages, which has been achieved with the new Constitution 2014, which confirmed the extension of compulsory till secondary education. I would like here to give my great thanks and appreciation to His Excellency Prof. Dr. / Mahmoud Abul Nasr, the Minister of Education for the genuine and continuing support to the National Center for Educational Research and Development, and the team preparing the national report of Education for All.