Samir Sobhi and Malak Luka discuss persistent problems with education with an expert There are many persistent questions that worry any person who is concerned with the progress of education in Egypt. As Egyptian children constitute 30 per cent of the population, they are truly a force that could either pull down or push the foundation of the country forward. There are questions like whether current exams truly do measure the mental capabilities or skills of student, or simply their ability to memorise and fill their brains with information that will dissolve the moment they finish their exams. Another question is whether the secondary school certificate in its recent status quo qualifies students to enter the labour market. Meanwhile, is it possible that a teacher now should not have a licence for practising the teaching profession? Why don't the faculties of education that train and qualify teachers follow the Ministry of Education? Does the role of the teacher diminish in the era of the Internet? And what about sexual education? Ramzi Abdel-Malek, an expert in the educational process and educational planning, is a veteran of this field, and has some answers and recommendations. As one of the firsts to attain a PhD at work among youth from the US, he published many studies on childhood and youth. He was not satisfied working from theoretical approaches but also applied empiricism in all his research and studies. He is an advisor to UNESCO and a member of the Red Crescent association since 1954, and also a secretary to an Egyptian association for protecting families from drugs. According to Abdel-Malek, exams in their current form don't measure or determine students' mental capacities and skills, but rather their capacity to acquire information. "Educational theories prove that this approach to education doesn't create modern or contemporary students who have the ability to deal with the prerequisites of this era," he said. As the situation stands, the student resembles a tape recorder, parroting data without thinking, since exams don't calibrate or activate other capacities. "As evidence, ask any student after passing the exam on the curriculum he studied and he will not remember anything. Besides, the parents' main interest is focussed on promoting their children's capabilities of accumulating information in order to get high scores to join public universities," Abdel-Malek said. Another persistent problem is the fact that private tutors support such behaviour. "They have given up on their professionalism by revealing the questions, to make their students' life easier," the expert said. No doubt, parents should cooperate with those responsible for educational institutions in order to reach a category of exams that enable measuring and determining the capabilities and skills of students. "It is of no importance to stuff the brains of students with information, but instead, to teach them how to benefit from it and apply it in their daily life," Abdel-Malek explained. He went on to say how the Egyptian Law of Education No 139/ 1981 stated among its goals that secondary education should be based on the adequate preparation of students for the demands of the labour market, or for joining universities. "But, we noticed that the secondary school graduate is qualified only for joining university and has no experience or skills that allow him or her to cater to the needs of the labour market." Back in 1979, there was a pilot project called "holistic" secondary school, which included both technical and general education, allowing graduates access to the information from the two branches. This project was financed by the World Bank. "Yet details about this project were not disclosed and no one knows exactly what happened to it," Abdel-Malek said. The story concluded in failure as it turned out that in 1978, the Ministry of Education sent two directors in a mission to England to be trained on this kind of education. It set a list of terms for selecting those who were worthy of getting the training and age wasn't among the terms of selection. Three years later the delegates returned back and retired without passing their information to their successors. As for the equipment and apparatus used in this project, they were sent back to the ministry storage areas. While there have been efforts to upgrade the educational process, there is one fact that has been a persistent setback, as Abdel-Malek argued. "A doctor can't work without a licence, neither can a driver or a journalist, yet teachers do. They should have a licence and indeed swear an oath. They also should have a charter that sets out the specificities of the teaching profession," he said. As a matter of fact, this was also requested four decades ago in 1976, at a conference for enhancing the conditions of teachers. Abdel-Malek notes also that the faculties of teaching should be incorporated under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education, not that of higher education. "There are 23 faculties of education and they are not incorporated in that system. The educational system should integrate the administration, teachers, students and parents together, so that they may all form a coherent group." Abdel-Malek also realises that we can't leave children computer-illiterate. "We must do our best to provide a computer for each home, financed by banks, the Teachers' Syndicate or the ministry itself." While it is clear that not all schools posses computer labs, could there be hope that lessons be prepared and installed on CD by a teacher? "Until now inspectors and directors aren't accepting anything other than notebooks. We should develop teachers' skills, capabilities of school departments and inspection liabilities. An integrated system cannot succeed from just one side," Abdel-Malek concluded.
