Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on Tuesday chaired a meeting with heads of the educational directorates nationwide to follow up on preparations for the electronic tests for the grade-one students of secondary schools. The meeting was attended by Minister of Education Tareq Shawqi, Minister of Communication and Information Technology Amr Talaat and representatives of other specialized bodies. Talaat asserted that there is full coordination between the Ministry of Education and other state organs to make sure that schools nationwide are fully ready to start the electronic tests of the students. Earlier, Shawky said in a parliament meeting that education reform will involve a shift from the current system which focuses on memorization to ensuring that students understand the knowledge and information they get through their curricula. The minister said that students will be tested on computers and/or tablets, and their answers will be sent to two professional teachers for correction, where an average of the two grades each teacher gives will determine the student's final marks. All tests will be corrected anonymously, he made it clear. The new system should also help prevent a repeat of exam question leaks that took place in previous years, he added.
