Nesmahar Sayed worries about the children's first year in school "No, no," Sherine El-Alfi responded when her colleague expressed surprise at the cheerful announcement that her daughter had been accepted in kindergarten, balking at the word "Accepted". "Actually it's not an easy task, no easy task at all." She wasn't so happy about the start of the long and arduous journey through the education system, one that would involve her and her husband as much as her daughter. She was happy, rather, because the hectic summer months of looking for schooling for her daughter were finally over. "I had the same feeling when my eldest daughter started school, and I thought it was over, too. Wrong!" They had to go through the process three times, in three different schools, before they found what they were looking for. "You can't imagine how complicated it is to find a place at a reputable school where there's discipline and good administration, as well as space enough for your child to participate in various activities besides the class work. You have to think about them enjoying it, but you have to think about fees, too." Hana El-Refaai went through the same process: more than 10 schools were inspected before she found something suitable for her son. "Though I'm a teacher at one of the older schools in Cairo which had a good reputation until the late 1980s, and though I live in Doqqi, which is well-known for the number of good schools there, my husband and I had to go through many, many interviews until we settled on the one my son now goes to." For El-Refaai, distance from home and reputation were equally important factors. After graduating from the American University in Cairo in the 1960s, Afaf Essmat refused to work as anything but a primary school teacher until she retired in the 1990s. With the benefit of hindsight, she pities parents these days. "Life was much easier in the past. Now things are getting more and more complicated. My son and daughter stayed at the same school from kindergarten all the way to college; there was no reason to change." The only questions in the 1960s related to whether or not to learn a foreign language and how efficient was the administration. Today things are rather more complicated. "Would you believe that boys and girls actually send love letters to each other, even engaging in unseemly acts on the school premises?" Soheir Dakrouri, an English teacher for over 20 years, agrees, stressing the parents' increasing demands. "Most parents want their children to be comfortable and be able to relax, but in the past what they looked for was quality; now it's all about quantity." This, she believes, is the reason behind the rise in the number of schools, private universities and the variety of educational systems on offer. But as Randa Zeineddin puts it, "schools are not clubs." She remembers the qualities advertised in the papers she scanned while she was looking for a school for her son: small classroom numbers, physical activities and healthy environment. "In the end I chose an old and distinguished school, famous for good education and a tough system that could help me raise the children properly." She is happy with her decision but the matter is relative. "The ideal school is one that raises the child mentally and physically, preparing him for university, which involves research and personal opinion." Parents like Nermine Serhan, who can afford schools that apply an international education system, more and more widespread in Egypt, believe "the high fees required more than making up for the cost of private tuition." Serhan believes the national curriculum is a waste of ability and time -- a "cut- and-paste job that just transfers the textbook into the examination paper" -- while El-Alfi thinks only trying out a school establishes whether or not it meets your requirements, "neither what the administration says nor what people say." How complicated are children's needs at kindergarten? According to Cairo University psychologist Ali Soliman, quite. "The kindergarten experience is the database the character draws on later on in life. The parents should invest in this phase." The choice between state and international schools has to do with "the building of a good citizen in harmony with the society and the culture to which he belongs, and harmony between school and home life must exist." Once you find a school that meets your specifications along those lines, waste no time at all securing a place for your child.
