CAIRO: Outdated curricula, unqualified graduates, obsolete education methods and inefficient evaluation systems are some of the most common problems facing the higher education system in Egypt. Having identified these problems, the Ministry of Higher Education initiated 26 programs aimed at restructuring the system under the Higher Education Enhancement Project (HEEP). Prominent among them is the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Program (QAAP). The program aims at instilling the community's confidence in the benefits of higher education, supporting the quality assurance and accreditation process in accordance with internal requirements of universities and higher education institutions as well as applying national standards for academic programs. "A major problem in higher education is that graduates aren't qualified enough for the work field so the concept of quality was introduced to change this situation, Professor Nabil Abdel Salam, a member of QAAP at the faculty of art in Helwan University, told Daily News Egypt. The program's first phase requires all higher education institutions to develop their educational programs, specifying the quality and the intended outcomes of these programs, which will comply with the national academic reference standards. Each institution is required to present a report on its progress in the fields of education, scientific research and society service. Review committees visit these institutions to make sure the universities are applying the program and to inspect the evaluation process. The institutions will provide reviewers with documents including program handbooks, learner support material, student feedback summaries, staff CVs with their list of research, conference papers and publications. In the second phase, institutions that meet quality standards apply for accreditation by the National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation (NAQAAE), which grants its graduates priority in the job market over other graduates. Formed of Egyptian education experts in the field of quality and accreditation, NAQAAE was established in November 2007 by a presidential decree; and is the only body entitled to give accreditation to educational institutions. "The education system in Egypt needs to be reconsidered to generate a productive and creative student who is qualified for the workplace and this can't be achieved except with elastic curriculums that teach the student how to think and plan, Magdy Qasem, head of NAQAAE told Al-Masry Al-Youm independent daily. "The [NAQAAE] has put laws that prevent any conflicting interests by preventing the head of the institute and his three deputy presidents from teaching at any institute or granting it any financial aid. The peer reviewers as well must not have any relation with the institution, Qasem said "Many of the faculties are still in the phase where they are studying the current situation and specifying points of weakness and points of advantage in order to [begin the] work, Abdel Salam said. "In the past, some faculties worked on quality assurance individually by cooperating with foreign universities while private universities, such as the French and German, get their accreditation from their homeland, he explained. Institutions that fail to meet these standards within a given period of time - a maximum of five years - will be closed for two years to restructure, in which time they will not accept any students. The program was suggested by the National Conference for Education Development in 2000. Three years later, a national committee for quality assurance began monitoring universities marking the debut of work in this field. According to a QAAP report published in March 2007, the main problems facing the project are lack of funds to implement the action plan addressing the weak points highlighted by the reports and financing the next phases of the program. Earlier this summer, Hani Helal, minister of Higher Education, announced that more than 40 faculties received over LE 400 million this year to qualify for accreditation from the cabinet office for education development, raising the number of faculties involved in the program to 170. Some improvements will be made to the infrastructure of faculties, which will be obliged to upgrade everything, from their facilities to the central air conditioning system, emergency management systems as well as signs and panels around the premises. Meanwhile, university professors are highlighting the lack of equipment and tools needed to improve the quality of education. "The concept is good but I can't find the basic tools to do my job like computers, data show projectors; the classes are unequipped even with decent blackboards to write on, a professor from Helwan University who preferred to remain anonymous told Daily News Egypt. "Under this system, we were required to have our programs prepared in advance according to a schedule and we have to stick to this schedule; how can we do that when we started discussing programs at the beginning of the academic year and started lectures three weeks later? she asked. Professor Amal Gaber from the faculty of mass communication at Cairo University, agrees, saying that some professors are against to the program. "As governmental universities this program is essential for us if we want to restore our leadership and return to competition because private universities were established on the proper basis and we have to catch up with them, Gaber told Daily News Egypt. "Aside from these problems, the concept is rejected by older professors who can't accept the idea of preparing a syllabus in advance and giving the student a chance to evaluate their performance which is a big hurdle in implementing the project, she added. Students, on the other hand, welcome the idea but demanded to be included in its application. "The idea is great and empirical steps were taken in the direction of improving quality . but change doesn't come in one step, Mohamed Saeed, head of Cairo University's Student Union told Daily News Egypt. "The education process is all about the student so we as students must be involved more and that is what we are trying to do as the Student Union but our opinion isn't of much value, Saeed said "There must be some kind of a link between strategic planning and what students want. Also, graduates' opinions should be considered to discover ways [to improve] education for the job market, he added.
