CAIRO: The Kefaya movement called on students and teachers to strike today, the first day of the new school year, under the slogan Make the 20th a day for peaceful protest against policies of humiliation and degradation. George Ishaq, former coordinator of the Kefaya movement for change, told Daily News Egypt that the strike comes in response to the worsening situation of the education scene by the failed government policies. A national convention will be organized bringing together representatives from political parties, NGOs and experts as well as teachers and students to discuss ways to improve the quality of education in Egypt, he added. Egypt is in danger because education is in danger, he said, criticizing the government's many failed attempts to reform the education system. In a press release, Kefaya called for the postponement of school fees until the second half of the year as well as canceling teachers' assessment exams - which determine whether teachers receive pay increases or not. Most teachers have called these exams humiliating and illegitimate. Kefaya also demanded that public and government employees be given a bonus equal to an extra month s salary to help them cope with the dual financial burden of Eid coinciding with the start of the new school year. A surge in the price of school supplies is exacerbating the financial burden on families as the school year starts a week before Eid El-Fitr. Eid Azouz, head of the notebooks department in the printing chamber of the Industrial Union, told Al-Dostour that the price of notebooks rose by 10-12 percent compared to the last school year. The price hike was blamed on the increasing costs of imported raw materials used in manufacturing notebooks, such as paper pulp (chemically treated fibers), which cost $100 a ton as opposed to last year s $90. Notebook consumption at the start of the school year is approximately 50 million and drops to half by mid-year. Sawan Ali, a nurse, is mother to a 10-year-old boy and seven-year-old girl who are enrolled in the public schools system. She complained of the rising prices of nearly everything, in addition to school supplies. With Eid and the school year beginning at the same time, she has to buy two sets of clothing and worry about the price of tuition and bus fees, which have also shot up. Meanwhile, Minister of Education Yousry El-Gammal said the ministry is ready for the new school year, saying that teachers and faculty are ready to provide students with a better quality of education. He told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the computer and technology will be added to the curriculum of the third year of secondary school. El-Gammal also said that teachers will undergo intensive training as part of a greater improvement program.
