Education and Social Class Formation in Contemporary Egypt

1 Education and Social Class Formation in Contemporary Egypt Thesis Submitted For A Ph.D. By Mahra Amin Dyab London University Institute of Education June 1990 (11BL.1 ONDV IMP; 2 ABSTRACT The main concern of this research is to study the influence of class power, culture and ideologies on educational policies, access and practices in the context of the changing political, economic and social policies of Egypt during the modern period. In order to study that, the thesis works on two levels, theoretical and empirical. The theoretical level presents the historical, methodological and theoretical broad context for the empirical study. This includes the study of the following: 1.- The economic and political situation in Egypt, 2.- State power and social class formation, and 3.- The system and policies of education in Egypt. The empirical study is concerned with study of the following subjects: 1.- Cultural and ideological perspectives of members from different class positions, 2.- Class perspectives on general educational issues, 3.- The ways in which 1 and 2 influence the distribution of educational opportunities for members from different class positions, and 4.- Differences between and within social classes concerning the above points. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENT I wish to thank various people who have helped and encouraged me in this study. My thanks must firstly go to my supervisor Mr Anthony Green, Lecturer in Sociology of Education at the Institute of Education of London University, for his stimulating suggestions, intellectual discussion and for his encouragement and support during my period of research. I would like also to express my gratitude to the late Professor Abu Al Fut ouh Radwan, the former Dean of Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, and to Dr. Nadia Gamal Eddin from Faculty of Education, for encouraging my work in this area of research and helping me to develop my first proposal for research before comming to study at the University of London. The research could not have been completed without the co- operation of the families I interviewed. I would like to thank them for being very generous, friendly and helpful. I owe a great debt to the Egyptian tax payers who financed the expenses of my study in a time of very difficult economic circumstances. Finally my heartful thanks go to my family for their love, encouragement and support throughout the period of my studies in London. 4 CONTENTS ABSTRACT 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3 Introduction 7 I. The Problem 9 II. The Place of this Research in the Field of Social Class Studies and Educational Research 12 III. Methodological Remarks 28 IV. The Study Plan 29 NOTES AND REFERENCES 31 PART ONE HISTORICAL, METHODOLOGICAL AND THEORETICAL ANALYSIS 34 Chapter One: Conceptual and Theoretical Discussion 35 Introduction 35 I. Developing Countries: Main Characteristics and Theories 37 II. The Concept of State 46 III. The Concept of Class 54 IV. Education in Relation to Development, State and Social Classes 77 V. Conclusion 98 NOTES AND REFERENCES 101 Chapter Two: The Economic and Political Context of Egypt from 1952 to the Present Day 110 Introduction 110 I. The Present Economic Crisis 111 II. The Economic and Political System Under Nasser (1952-1970) 114 III. The Economic and Political System Under Sadat (1970-1981) 121 IV. Egypt Under Mubarak 127 V. Conclusion 131 NOTES AND REFERENCES 132 Chapter Three: State Power and Class Formation in Egypt 137 Introduction 137 I. The Theoretical Background of the Study of the Class Formation of Egypt 138 II. The Historical Background of the Class Formation of Egypt 139 III. The Composition of the Present Class Formation of Egypt. 141 IV. Conclusion 171 NOTES AND REFERENCES 174 5 Chapter Four: Educational Policy in Egypt: Historical background and the class nature of the system 180 Introduction 180 I. The Historical Background of the Education System 181 II. Education Under The Revolution (1952 to the present) 188 III. The Class Nature of the Education System in Egypt and the Reproduction of the Class Structure 206 IV. Conclusion 228 NOTES AND REFERENCES 233 PART TWO 240 THE EMPIRICAL STUDY Introduction to Part Two 241 Chapter Five: Tools and Procedures for the Field Study 244 Introduction 244 I. Selection of Criteria for Classifying the Field Study Sample 244 II. Methodology and Procedures for the Field Study 263 NOTES AND REFERENCES 264 Chapter Six: Social Class Membership and Cultural and Ideological Perspectives 267 Introduction 267 I. Sample Profile 268 II. Image of Society 276 III. Political, Economic Interests and Class Consciousness 291 IV. People's Image of the future: 306 V. Conclusion 309 NOTES AND REFERENCES 318 Chapter Seven: Class Perspectives on General Educational Issues 319 Introduction 319 I. The Role of Education in Society 321 II. Evaluation of the Education System 327 III. Equal Rights in Education 350 IV. Spending on Education 361 V. Future Educational Change 377 VI. Conclusion 384 NOTES AND REFERENCES 394 6 Chapter Eight: Class Provision and Appropriation of Education 395 Introduction 395 I. Class Membership and Perceived Opportunities for Social Advance and Ambitions for Children's Education 396 II. Educational Practices 424 III. Children's Future 460 IV. Conclusion 462 Chapter Nine: Conclusion 476 APPENDICES 507 BIBLIOGRAPHY 548 7 INTRODUCTION Egypt is well known to the world as one of the ancient nations that made a great contribution both to the world and to civilization. That contribution includes areas of science, art, and human knowledge in general. Alexandria was one of the world's capitals of education and knowledge. In spite of this, Egypt today is among the underdeveloped countries that look forward to the achievement Of socio- economic and cultural development. A short history of Egypt is necessary in order to identify the main concern of this research, which is the influence of class power, cultures and ideologies on education policies, access and practices in the context of changing political, economic and social policies of Egypt during the modern period. These policies aimed at the achievement of socio-economic and cultural progress. Such socio-economic and cultural progress in modern times can be traced back to the period of Muhammad Aly Pasha, who ruled Egypt from 1805 to 1845. Muhammad Aly established a modern state in Egypt; he introduced modern industry, transportation and improved agriculture by digging canals for irrigation.2 Muhammad Aly understood that building a modern state required a qualified labour force, prepared on a new basis and with specializations which would be different from the traditional religious elite.2 Consequently, he introduced a modern educational system which included such specializations as medicine, engineering, and military study, and he sent students to study abroad, especially in France. Muhammad Aly's educational policy was not for mass education, access to modern education was only available to the upper and middle classes, and the masses were still educated in the traditional religious institutions such as mosques and kuttabs.3 Muhammad Aly's modernization programme did not continue for very long, because he was threatened by the European powers, and not long after Egypt came under British 8 occupation (1882-1923).4 Egypt became part of the British Empire. The Egyptian economy was integrated into the world capitalist market after the Second World War. Egypt's industry was destroyed, and the economy came to depend on the production of cotton for British industry. The Egyptian state lost control over education. The British reduced student numbers, introduced fees for education, and gave only the minimum financial support to education.5 In 1952 the Egyptian Revolution took place under the leadership of Nasser, who is considered the first indigenous Egyptian to have ruled modern Egypt. Nasser's Revolution is a turning point in the modern history of Egypt. Nasser influenced the political, economic and social structure of the country. He introduced a programme of industrialization, land reclamation, and agrarian reform. These changes had socio- political consequences, particularly in terms of the social and political power which, before the Revolution, was left in the hands of the feudal landowners. Nasser introduced a programme of mass education, and health and social services which have had a major impact on raising the standard of living of the people. Nasser's programme of development was undermined by the defeat of 1967, which forced Egypt to devote most of her financial and human resources to the war effort. After Nasser's death in 1970, Sadat came to power. Once he had consolidated his power in the war of 1973, he introduced his "economic open-door" policy, which opened the Egyptian economy to western, and especially American, investment. This policy has had political, economic and social consequences. It led Egypt into political and economic dependency and widened the gap between Egypt's social classes. 9 In economic terms, Egypt is now faced by a growing economic problem, with a huge foreign deficit, estimated to be $40 billion in 1988. Industrial and agricultural production are not keeping pace with the increase in population, which currently increases by 2.8 per cent annually. The general standard of living is low, and the per capita annual income was estimated at $390 in 1978, which put Egypt among the middle income group of Third World countries.' Education is suffering from many problems: drop-out from primary school in 1978/79 reached 5.2 per cent in the first six grades of primary education; enrolment in primary education increased to 93.9 per cent nationally. but there are great differences between urban and rural areas. Whereas in urban areas enrolment may reach 88.1 per cent, in rural areas it may only be 32.7 per cent. Illiteracy, according to the 1976 Census, was 56.3 per cent of the total population over the age of ten.

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