A new education system has been in place since the beginning of the current academic year. It aims at eliminating the old system by turning students from passive recipients into active participants. Education experts spent 15 months creating the new system. Instead of textbooks, the Ministry of Education would distribute computer tablets to school students. The tablets would be connected to a high-speed Internet connection at schools to encourage students to search the Internet for information. The new system also aimed at providing students with much-needed skills. Education experts have screened education systems in Japan and Singapore, among others, for best practices. In a press conference Minister of Education and Technical Education Tarek Shawki explained the system is based on digital learning and removes curricula and test methods that depend mainly on memorisation. Students will be taught on how to log on to educational websites, among them the Bank of Knowledge, York Press and Britannica. In the first phase the system will be applied to all grade 10 students as well as kindergarten (KG1 and KG2) and grade one students. Other school years will continue to follow the old system until the new one replaces it. “Grade one students will not sit for monthly or end-of-term exams. They will be promoted to the following year without exams until they reach grade three. Students will start taking exams as of grade four,” said Shawki. According to Shawki, pupils will study in the Arabic language, taking mathematics, science, geography, history and Arabic. In grades seven, eight and nine, science and mathematics will be taught in English and a third language will be introduced. The new education system has created great controversy among education experts. Egyptians have been complaining about the old education system and demanded change. Some education experts were optimistic, believing that Shawki will develop the current education system despite the current obstacles. Shawki, they said, is looking ahead and working on solving the existing problems. Opponents to the new system believe there are many structural problems that need to be addressed, among which is that the budget allocated to education does not exceed four per cent of Egypt's gross national income. Most of this percentage is consumed by salaries and bonuses of the ministry's administration. The salary item accounts for 85 per cent of the education budget. Other obstacles include the state of schools and educational buildings and their small number compared to the number of students. This diminishes the possiblity of employing modern educational methods due to the large class sizes. Reda Hegazi, head of the General Education Sector at the Ministry of Education, said at the conference grade 10 students will sit for 12 exams in each subject over the three years of secondary school. A student's final grades will be calculated according to the best six grades from 12 exams. “Total grades of secondary school [grades 10-12] will be 410 marks, and will determine the student's eligibility to join university,” said Hegazi. He noted the duration of exams will range from 40 minutes to 100 minutes instead of the current two to three hours. The number of questions has been reduced to suit the new times. However, an exception will be made this year. More time will be given on exams because students have not practised enough on using tablets. As for Thanaweya Amma exams, according to Hegazi, they will be held at school level. The ministry will cancel national secondary school exams. Question-banks are to be set up by education experts and teachers. A computer system will be responsible for choosing exam questions. Tests will be sent to student tablets to be answered electronically using an open-book style, and will be corrected electronically and anonymously. Official Spokesman to the Ministry of Education and Technical Education Ahmed Saber pointed out the ministry is scheduled to distribute 708,000 tablets for studying and exams to 600,000 grade 10 students and teachers at a cost of LE1 million. The Ministry of Education will finish distributing tablets by the end of December. “Accordingly, grade 10 students will take their final term exams according to the old system, writing on paper. Students will need at least two months of tablet training. They will use tablets in the finals of the second term,” said Saber. Some 200,000 teachers at 2,500 schools have been trained on using tablets. Accordingly, salaries will be increased to try to end private lessons. Teachers will not draw up exams. “There will be additional incentives for teachers who participate in the formation of test questions,” said Saber. The system will be introduced to secondary schools in Suez, Port Said and Damietta which have a relatively lower number of schools and students. The system will be introduced gradually throughout the next few years. Grades seven, eight and nine will implement the new arrangement after it starts in grades 10, 11 and 12. “The use of tablets does not mean the absence of students from school. Teachers will record absences electronically. Students who miss 25 per cent of classes will not sit for the exam,” said Hegazi. Saber revealed the first assessment will be made after three years. The overall cost of reforming the education system will be $2 billion. Egypt has received a $500 million loan from the World Bank to support the new strategy. 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Education, Japanese style THIS YEAR was the start of the first academic year of Egyptian-Japanese schools in Egypt, Mai Samih reports. The schools aim at serving the middle class by providing children with what the schools say is a distinguished education. The school curriculum will be taught in Arabic. Japanese will not be taught nor are there Japanese teachers or a Japanese curriculum. The whole idea is that they implement the Tokkatsu Plus system with the assistance of Japanese expertise. The system aims at harmonising the development of the mind and body of a child while strengthening his or her personality, enhancing positive and practical behaviour and working with children to build a better life. It also aims at helping them form human relationships in society and enhancing the ability of children to self-develop. This is achieved by group activities that the school holds, including sports and cultural days, teaching children personal hygiene, classroom cleanliness, organisation and taking turns in class responsibilities. This helps a child be considerate and enables him or her to accomplish certain tasks with the help of others. Egyptian teachers were given a training course on Tokkatsu Plus by Japanese experts while specialists in the Japanese educational model visited Cairo to oversee implementation. Unlike many Egyptian schools, classes have less students. In addition, the schools are equipped to allow artistic and sportive activities. Egyptian-Japanese schools have been a subject of controversy. They were scheduled to open last year. However, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi postponed the launch to allow more transparency in the selection of students and teachers. The Embassy of Japan and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency are both partners in founding the schools, along with the Ministry of Education. Applications to enrol started in July.
