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The Informal Market of Education in Egypt. Private Tutoring and Its Implications

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The Informal Market of Education in Egypt. Private Tutoring and Its Implications Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien Department of Anthropology and African Studies Arbeitspapiere / Working Papers Nr. 88 Sarah Hartmann The Informal Market of Education in Egypt. Private Tutoring and Its Implications 2008 The Working Papers are edited by Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Forum 6, D-55099 Mainz, Germany. Tel. +49-6131-3923720; Email: [email protected]; http://www.ifeas.uni-mainz.de http://www.ifeas.uni-mainz.de/workingpapers/Arbeitspapiere.html Geschäftsführende Herausgeberin/ Managing Editor: Eva Spies ([email protected]) Biographical Note Sarah Hartmann studied Social Anthropology and Media and Communication Studies at the Free University of Berlin and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. She gained her M.A. degree from the Free University of Berlin in 2007. Note on Transliteration I have used a simplified transliteration of Arabic terms in this text, in order to make it more readable and to represent the Egyptian spoken dialect as it sounds rather than as it might be written in Arabic. I have retained double consonants, but, in most cases, made no distinction between long and short vowels. I do not differentiate between the different “s”, “d” and “t” sounds, nor between the different “h” sounds that exist in Arabic. An open single quotation mark (‘) represents the consonant “‘ayn”, an apostrophe (’) the letters “hamza”, “qaf” (which is not pronounced in Egyptian dialect) or a glottal stop. I have not assimilated the “l” of the definite article. Names and place names are represented in their most common form of spelling. 2 Contents Note on Transliteration ............................................................................................. 2 Contents ...................................................................................................................... 3 1 Introduction................................................................................................. 6 2 Private tutoring – a worldwide phenomenon ........................................... 8 2.1 Definition: private tutoring ........................................................................... 8 2.2 Literature on private tutoring ........................................................................ 9 3 Theoretical framework............................................................................. 12 3.1 Concepts of the market ............................................................................... 12 3.2 Commodification: expansion of the market principle................................. 13 3.3 Education – a public good? Privatization, informalization and the role of the state ............................................................................................................. 14 3.3.1 Education and the state ...................................................................... 14 3.3.2 Privatization and informalization....................................................... 17 3.3.3 Is education a public good?................................................................ 18 4 Background: Education in Egypt ............................................................ 19 4.1 Historical development of the education system ........................................ 19 4.2 The Egyptian education system today......................................................... 22 4.3 The significance of magmu‘ and shihada – popular perceptions of education in Egypt ....................................................................................................... 24 4.4 The status and role of teachers.................................................................... 28 5 Research setting.........................................................................................31 5.1 Doing research in Umm al-Dunya – The challenges of urban anthropology in Cairo........................................................................................................ 31 5.2 Gaining access to the field: strategies and obstacles................................... 32 5.3 “Key informants”........................................................................................ 34 5.4 Research methods........................................................................................ 35 5.5 The role of the researcher............................................................................ 37 5.6 Manatiq sha‘biyya – Cairo’s popular quarters............................................ 39 6 The informal market of education in Egypt ........................................... 40 6.1 The different forms of private tutoring ....................................................... 40 6.1.1 Privates/ durus khususiyya................................................................. 40 6.1.2 Sections/ magmu‘at............................................................................ 41 3 6.2 Five pounds for the winner – A private lesson at home.............................. 41 6.3 The rhythm of chemistry – Mr. Hishams “chemistry show” ...................... 43 6.4 Cultures of teaching and learning ............................................................... 45 6.5 Private tutoring and the state....................................................................... 47 7 Students as “consumers” on the informal market of education ........... 49 7.1 When school ends, classes begin… A student’s day in Cairo .................... 50 7.2 Student portraits.......................................................................................... 52 7.2.1 Dina.................................................................................................... 52 7.2.2 Sumaya............................................................................................... 53 7.2.3 Girgis.................................................................................................. 53 7.3 Rates of participation: Who takes part in private tutoring? ........................ 55 7.4 Motivations and strategies.......................................................................... 56 7.5 Family budgets and household politics....................................................... 59 8 Teachers as “suppliers” on the informal market of education ............. 60 8.1 Teacher portraits..........................................................................................61 8.1.1 Mr. Youssif........................................................................................ 61 8.1.2 Mr. Imad............................................................................................. 62 8.2 Motivations and strategies.......................................................................... 63 8.3 Howa mudarris mashhur – teachers as “stars” ........................................... 65 8.4 Ma‘anduhumsh mawhiba – The absence of female teachers in the tutoring business ....................................................................................................... 68 8.5 Private tutoring – empowerment or corruption? The changing relationship between teachers and students .................................................................... 68 9 Educational entrepreneurs........................................................................... 71 9.1 Private tutoring centers in Cairo ................................................................. 72 9.2 Portrait: Mr. Hamid and his tutoring center................................................ 73 9.3 Professional background and motivations .................................................. 74 9.4 Between ‘alaka usariyya and marketing strategies – relations to teachers and students................................................................................................. 76 10 Discussion of findings and conclusion ..................................................... 80 References................................................................................................................. 84 Glossary of Arabic terms......................................................................................... 91 Appendix 1: List of informants/ interview partners............................................. 93 Appendix 2: Interview guideline students (tutoring centers)............................... 96 4 Appendix 3: Interview guideline teachers (tutoring centers)............................... 98 Appendix 4: Interview guideline educational entrepreneurs............................. 100 Appendix 5: Pictures.............................................................................................. 102 Zusammenfassung auf Deutsch ............................................................................ 103 5 The Informal Market of Education in Egypt. Private Tutoring and Its Implications1 1 Introduction Education is generally perceived as a public good which should be provided by the state. In Egypt, where approximately one third of the population is under the age of 15, it is regarded as a crucial task and an important investment in the future of the country. Free and equal access to education has been guaranteed to all Egyptian citizens since President Nasser’s socialist reforms in the 1950s. However, due to high population growth rates and a lack of financial resources, the public education system has been struggling to accommodate rapidly increasing numbers of students. While enrollment rates have risen steadily during the last decades, the quality of state-provided services has deteriorated. As a result, the provision
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