The year ended much as it had begun, with headlines dominated by tragic accidents. Reem Leila examines the attention grabbing stories of 2008 and prospects for the new year All was not well on the domestic front in 2008. Issues relating to health, education, traffic accidents, collapsing buildings and fires which claimed the lives of hundreds due to negligence and mismanagement left the public confused and increasingly unwilling to take official reassurances at face value. All of these issues have received attention from both the public and officials, highlighting the dire need of a radical overhaul across many sectors in coming years. Disasters which hit Egypt during 2008, the fires at the Shura Council and the National Theatre; the collapse of buildings in several governorates in Egypt killing more than 45 people and injuring around 15 others; the Dweiqa rockslide in Moqattam which killed hundreds of residents and injured more than 60, amply demonstrated that the state lacks any coherent strategy to turn slogans into reality. Sectarian clashes were also a problem demanding a comprehensive rather than piecemeal solution. While few question that the education system is in urgent need of upgrading the recommendations of education professionals have failed to garner public approval. The education plan drafted this year, basing the secondary school certificate on a single, final year exam, and forcing students to sit an additional test in order to be accepted by specific universities and faculties, has failed to win public support. The final decision on placements will be made on the basis of the combined results of the thanaweya amma and entrance exams and will begin to be applied in school year 2010/11. The tax exempt status of private schools has also been cancelled and they must now pay 20 per cent tax on profits. In response, fees have increased in 2008 and are expected to increase more this year. The leaking of secondary school exam papers ignited public disdain with the dysfunctional system. In an attempt to upgrade the level of teachers the Ministry of Education tried a new cadre system under which school teachers must pass an exam in return for better pay. Most teachers were unhappy about becoming students again and believed the very idea of testing them was offensive. According to Reda Abu Serie, deputy to the minister of education, the reform takes into consideration realistic goals that the ministry will continue following up on in the belief that continuous reform is an essential bridge to building a system capable of producing graduates who are competitive in the international market. Lack of professionalism is a major problem in many fields, including the medical sector where mistakes can cost patients' lives. The death of four neonatal infants and one adult on 22 May following a power cut at Egypt's second largest hospital, Al-Matariya General in Cairo, shocked the public. A month earlier eight patients, between 50 and 65 years of age, died at Egypt's main cardiac centre at the Delta city of Mahala Al-Kubra shortly after the closure of clinics using ozone therapies. Egyptian patients were caught seeking to sell kidneys to foreigners, though under Egyptian law the practice is illegal. In October the Health Ministry closed down operation theatres and intensive care units in two private hospitals following the death of three patients. The health minister also ordered anesthetists not to use nitrous oxide cylinders after three patients died upon receiving dosages from contaminated tanks. Abdel-Rahman Shahin, official spokesman at the Ministry of Health and Population, says the Health Ministry is studying the creation of a medical city in Sixth of October. "It will provide ongoing training programmes for doctors and nurses and help in enhancing their performance which will be positively reflected on people's health," said Shahin. Deficiencies in national transport were again in the spotlight. In the governorate of Matrouh 44 people were killed and 35 injured after a truck pushed waiting traffic into the path of a speeding train. A further 13 people were killed and 24 injured when a bus and truck collided head-on south of Cairo in October. More than 60 people were killed and 10 injured when their bus plunged into a canal south of Cairo at the end of the Eid Al-Adha celebrations last month. It was the deadliest road accident in Egypt since 1987. More than 6,000 people are killed and 26,000 injured every year on Egypt's roads according to the World Health Organisation. Yet last August's new traffic law, despite official assurances it "will be scrupulously enforced to improve the traffic situation" -- Major-General Sherif Gomaa, assistant to the interior minister -- has yet to improve the situation. The collapse of buildings has almost become an every day occurrence. "A plan came into effect during the last quarter of 2008 and will continue during the coming year to demolish all buildings that contravene construction codes," says Sherif Abdel-Moneim, Cairo governorate's media spokesman, who adds that all families evacuated from their homes have been provided with alternative houses. The public, though, has yet to be convinced. Even those with whom day to day contact is unavoidable now adopt a more aggressive and violent attitude. In May, clashes between Muslims and Christians -- the burglary of Coptic jewellery shops in different governorates and the Abu Fana Monastery crisis which lasted for months -- raised the spectre of sectarian discord in Egypt. Another type of violence also prevailed in 2008: during Eid Al-Fitr gangs of young men stalked and sexually harassed women on the streets of Cairo. During the first week of November Islam Amr, an 11-year-old schoolboy, died after being kicked in the chest by his mathematics teacher, who was sentenced to six years in prison. This was followed by the brutal murder of two university students in a residential compound in Sixth of October City's Sheikh Zayed district. "2009 will witness the preparation of a new strategy to combat violence against pupils in schools which will include a protection bill and code of behaviour to protect pupils against violence," says Abu Serie.
