TEACHERS are being paid more, and some of students' exam concerns are being assuaged, reports Mohamed El-Sayed, as the school year begins this Saturday for some 17 million students across the country. While the logistical hassles and financial burdens accompanying the annual back-to-school shopping spree may be hard to avoid, some attempts are being made to bypass some of the education system's serious afflictions. The government, for instance, has pledged to allocate LE1 billion towards raising teachers' salaries, Education Minister Yousri El-Gamal said. "The raises will range from LE350 to LE500, based on the teacher's experience, and the location of the school." But the pay raise, El-Gamal said, will still have to be discussed by the People's Assembly in November before coming into effect. Some students, meanwhile, have something to look forward to this year, with a seminal change taking place in the way grades are calculated in the primary stage. "50 per cent of the [final] grade will be based on [students' performance in] activities," said top Education Ministry official Rida Abu Sirie', "in an attempt to soften students' fear of exams". Some 525 new schools will be opened this academic year, which will come to an end on 6 June 2007. The mid-year break will run from 27 January-8 February 2007. The education minister, in the meantime, was being lambasted at the Press Syndicate last week, where a mock trial was held to account him for the tumult caused by this year's thanaweya amma (secondary school certificate) results. Headed by veteran education expert Hamed Ammar, the judges also included an MP, Gamal Zahran. Although invited, the minister declined to attend his "trial", where a great many students and parents "testified" about "the mistakes that were made during the grading of the tests, which would negatively affect their future".
