The spirit and substance of Mubarak's guidelines for educational reform are readily transferable to other areas, writes Ibrahim Nafie President Mubarak's address to the conference on educational development in Egypt, held in Alexandria on Tuesday, inaugurated a new phase of national action. Its keyword: broad- based dialogue on the many issues preoccupying the various sectors of society. The address, in effect, fired the starting signal for a comprehensive national revival programme, the major focuses of which, as well as the rules for accountability and progress assessment, were outlined in the president's speech upon the inauguration of the new cabinet. Although the new government headed by Ahmed Nazif has only been in office a short time, it is already clear that a new vision inspired by a fresh spirit has begun to take shape. And while it is still far too early to assess the new government's performance, there are strong indications that it has taken to heart the tasks with which it has been charged and that soon we will feel tangible changes testifying to its ability to promote the kind of development and modernisation that will enable Egypt to take its appropriate place among nations. In his speech on the occasion of the swearing in of the new government, Mubarak established the priorities that required the government's most immediate attention. Topping the list was the need to enable limited income sectors to meet the basic costs of living, an aim that entails the creation of job opportunities and raising per capita income. As the president said, this also requires, above all, that we work to cap population growth "so that all Egyptians, at their various stages of life, can reap the fruits of reform, whether provided through an education system that meets modern standards and contemporary demands, or through the encouragement of the creative talents and capacities of individuals and society, or through the improvement of health services throughout the country". The president also homed in on the question of investment and employment. In order to stimulate domestic, Arab and foreign investment in all fields of the national economy, he said, we must streamline and upgrade the performance of government bureaucracy from the top down. At the same time, all sectors of society must work together towards this end so that we can best optimise our collective skills and creativity. "We must have a single, united team spirit. There must be complete coordination between the legislature and the specialised advisory councils, and all citizens and community organisations must have the opportunity to contribute their opinions and expertise to a rich and rewarding experience in the mobilisation of all our available energies towards the realisation of our goals." Without a doubt, these key concepts -- "capitalising on all available energies and expertise", "coordination between legislative and executive bodies" and "cooperation with citizens and community organisations" -- define a new direction in national action. When put into practice, they will promote a general unity of purpose and ensure that the average citizen is closely involved in the national dialogue over those very matters that ultimately aim to improve his conditions of living and develop his individual potential. Taking the substance of the president's speech, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif transformed it into a ten-point agenda for achieving the government's goals. These are: increasing and developing investment; restructuring subsidies and market regulation; providing essential public services; improving the performance of government bureaucracy; developing education and scientific research; reforming economic performance; controlling population growth and improving health services; modernising the political climate and promoting institutionalised government; optimising on and preserving sources of natural wealth; and building an information society. In addition to delineating the new cabinet's priorities in the national action plan, Mubarak has been following progress step-by-step. He has set specific guidelines with regard to each of the ten points on the government agenda and he is particularly keen to ensure that the programmes to implement them are practical so that citizens can feel tangible results as soon as possible. Simultaneously, he is ascertaining that civil society organisations and experts are actively involved in the relevant discussions. It is against this background that the meeting on educational development in Egypt held in Alexandria this week assumes considerable importance. In his address to that assembly, the president set the pattern for an approach to each individual item on the national agenda, of which education is but one. "In spite of the many priority concerns of Egyptian society, all of which are interrelated with national development and the improvement of the quality of life in Egypt, and over which we will hold successive expanded meetings over the coming months, I am eager that this meeting serves to further the national dialogue on the question of education, which is one of our most central and critical issues." In so saying, President Mubarak placed education within the greater perspective of national aims and aspirations, while simultaneously spotlighting education as an area for profiling the attitudes and steps involved in addressing a single issue. On the basis of a thoroughly frank diagnosis of the current state of education in Egypt, the president set the spirit we must adopt as we engage in the process of educational reform. He said, "If our approach to the advancement of education and the elimination of illiteracy in the 1980s was founded on priorities militated by a domestic perspective, our major challenge today is to come up to international standards of education so as to strengthen our ability to integrate with the rest of the world and enhance our openness to other civilisations, cultures and societies." He added, "We have made great inroads in the development of our educational infrastructure, in providing education for all, and in ensuring equal opportunity for males and females commensurate with international rates in this regard. However, our sense of responsibility renders it imperative that we admit with the utmost candour that the end product of education in Egypt still requires considerable development and modernisation, for only then will we attain the desired quality standards that will enable education to realise its major goals in harmony with the spirit of the age." Mubarak then proceeded to outline a number of objectives educational reform should aspire to. We have set ourselves on the course to the development of a knowledge society and a greater spirit of creativity and innovation. Towards these ends we must strengthen the competitive abilities of the young and augment opportunities for them to realise their personal ambitions while simultaneously channelling these energies towards national aims. We must also work to enhance the spirit of national affiliation founded upon love for one's country as well as upon an awareness of the individual's rights and duties, the promotion of authentic values of Egyptian society and the strengthening of the coherence of its social and religious fabric. Reforms must also aim to create a vibrant academic life in schools and universities and to ensure a well-rounded social, physical, cultural and scholastic education. In order to confront the spectre of unemployment, education must be channelled towards producing those skills and specialisations required by the domestic employment market. We should simultaneously aim to produce the highly skilled cadres that are in demand by all modern nations and societies, enabling our graduates to compete for jobs not only at home, but also abroad, thereby reducing pressures on the domestic employment market. With these aspirations in mind, the president set a number of specific policy guidelines for educational reform. He called for the development of curricula and pedagogy at all levels, with a special focus on imparting in students the skills and know-how to enable them to become autonomous learners capable of improving their knowledge and skills throughout the course of their lives. Towards this end, too, efforts must also be dedicated towards teacher development through in-service training programmes, regional and international exchanges and due attention to teachers' moral and material well- being. The president further encouraged the "decentralisation" of educational administration throughout Egypt's governorates in a manner that preserves the commitment to national aims and the specific goals and standards to which all educational institutions must abide. This, in turn, entails promoting awareness that the educational process is part and parcel of a more comprehensive social process in which the private sector and the non-profit sector and other components of civil society play an increasing role in furnishing the essential educational infrastructure within the framework of national objectives and unified educational standards. The president urged concrete support for the culture of scientific inquiry through the provision of the necessary tools and equipment for this purpose at all educational stages. The inculcation of effective research skills must become an integral part of the formation of the student, he said. He further called for the integration of special needs students into the educational process at appropriate levels, greater flexibility and diversity in curricula design at the university level, and measures to allow for increasing student enrollment in universities and higher education institutes over the next ten years. At the end of his speech before the Alexandria conference on education, President Mubarak called upon the new cabinet to take the comprehensive approach to the development of education as its starting point for similarly integrated policies aimed at quality improvement across all public services. At the same time, he reiterated the importance of close cooperation between the government, the private sector and civil society towards the realisation of national goals and aspirations. Collective responsibility is inseparable from the nation's collective interests and the government and the private sector each has its share of the burden to bear, he said. It now remains for each ministry to translate the spirit and general guidelines the president outlined in his speech into specific programmes with realistic targets that can be achieved within set time frames. That these in turn will provide the public with a concrete basis for assessing progress and performance should stimulate both broader involvement and greater confidence in this new and dynamic drive to create an Egypt that can take its proper place among the nations of the world.
