CAIRO: Egypt's education ministry admitted that a teachers strike that began one week ago has continued to rise in numbers, although their figures are dramatically lower than the 80 percent participation cited by the Independent Teachers Syndicate. The ministry admitted on Thursday that the strike now involves more than 1,400 schools, or approximately 3.4 percent across the country. Reports issued by the ministry revealed the governorates of Suez and Beni Suef have the highest rates of strikes. Activists and teachers say they have achieved near 100 percent participation in Monoufiya and hope their pressure will bring their demands of better working conditions to the forefront of debate in the country. Hala Talaat, a founding member of the Alternative Teachers Syndicate told the Egyptian newspaper el-Badeel that the ministry's statistics are “false,” adding that there are “entire governates' schools on strike such as in al-Monofiya, in the Dela region, north of Cairo.” The calls for the strike was issued by the Independent Teachers Syndicate earlier this month, under the banner “a school year with no teachers” as a pressure method to improve teachers' lives and the overall education quality in Egypt. The alternative syndicate said the strike is in effect until Thursday if their demands are not met and on Friday they will mobilize for a “million man march.” The striking teachers are calling for better working conditions and fair wages. Their list of demands include a 3,000 Egyptian Pounds ($510) minimum wage for teachers, hiring all temporary teachers who have been working at their posts for years, but are deprived of the benefits of hired teachers and the resignation of the current minister and what they called “cleansing” the ministry of all the old regime's affiliates. Some teachers receive a basic salary as low as 200 Egyptian pounds ($34). The teachers are also calling for criminalizing private lessons, a mainstream norm for students, which the teacher says has contributed in the “worsening of the quality of education” in schools. Official reports by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistic (CAPMAS) say Egyptian families spend 10 percent of their income on private tutors. The report said 81 percent of high school students, 74 percent of junior high students and 50 percent of elementary school get private lessons. ** Manar Ammar contributed to this report. BM
