CAIRO: An exclusive group of students in Egypt could once call themselves recipients of an American Diploma. However, after an education ministry decree in 1997 that set criteria for offering the diploma and lowered the bar, many Egyptian schools all reached for a piece of the American education pie. The American high school education system is one that focuses on teaching skills and encourages critical thinking, Mohamed Ahmed, a teacher FOR 10 years and the current vice principal of a school in Kuwait, said. He further explained that it allows and encourages students to be disciplined and punctual as well as do their own research and come up with conclusions based on scientific methods Ahmed, who has been exposed to four different education systems throughout his tenure, believes that although the American system maintains its benchmarks, it is still considered flexible. "The American system s greatest flaw [in Egypt] is that any school can offer a different curriculum than the one next to it, a phenomenon, he explains, that many schools are taking advantage of. Selling the Grade An American diploma student s Grade Point Average (GPA) is calculated from grade 9 and up to grade 12. From 1997 till 2004, the University Coordination Office, the governmental body through which students apply to public universities, based 60 percent of the grade admitting the students to colleges on the GPA and 40 percent on the SATs. "So many schools realized this and started [to] 'sell' and inflate grades. So a student would pay a lot of money and 'buy' the American diploma certificate and the school would give them a 4.0 GPA. This of course counts for 60 percent of their grade. So the other 40 percent was up to the student to earn, explained Ahmed. "If the student gets only 75 percent on the SATs then they can get an overall GPA of about 90 percent and above on the overall GPA, this can allow them to enter pharmacy schools or medical schools, he added. With the SATs basically as the sole requirement for enrolling in universities, parents demanded that the schools start teaching SAT courses. Moreover, private tutoring emerged, thus turning the American system into one like thanaweya amma - more concerned with the grade rather than the learning process and dependent on private tutoring. "Schools in the US do not teach the SATs, however, the Egyptian [spoon feeding] culture is in our DNA and we just can't resist, said Ahmed, who received his high school, university and graduate school degrees from the US. Unprepared However, in 2004 the Ministry of Education changed the percentage allocated from the GPA and the SATs, with the GPA now counting for 40 percent and the SATs score counting for 60 percent. When Noha Abdel Kireem got a disappointing 70 percent in the first year of the Egyptian high school certificate, thanaweya amma, she decided to transfer to the American system. She was admitted straight into 12th grade at the Manor House school. "I spent the whole year taking the SATs, [my GPA] was a given [4.0] and I got to graduate after 11 years of education as if I was still in thanaweya amma, Abdel Kireem explained. With the 4.0 GPA and an above average SATs score she achieved after six trials, Abdel Kireem met all the requirements and was accepted into medical school. However, she still regrets her decision. "I don't think I deserve getting into medical school and I now know that you can't play your way into a university. If I didn't get the required score in thanaweya amma then this was my clue that medicine wasn't for me, said Abdel Kireem. However, Tarek Emam, high school principal at the American section of Manor House, maintains that his school s system is solid. "Our school was qualified and received an international accreditation from the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA). We follow the Ministry of Education s regulations and just like any education institution we are annually inspected, he said. Emam however refused to share the tuition fees at his school. Daily News Egypt contacted Memphis International School pretending to be a parent with a child in 10th grade. Memphis is another school notorious for its commercial offers to the students ever since it opened an American section in 2000. The head of the admissions office explained that the school greatly stresses on preparing the students for the SATs during grades 11 and 12 because "this is the most important element and determines which university and faculty the student enters. When asked why some students were enrolled directly in 11th grade - skipping 10th - Daily News Egypt was advised to come to their administration with the student s documents and we will make you very happy. Ahmed Ghoneim was a student in one of the well-reputed American schools in Egypt. When he transferred to Memphis, he was made to skip 11th grade, enrolling directly in the 12th and he never looked back. "After getting the proper American education since KG 1 no way was this last year going to make a difference and 'ruin my education' as everyone claims, Ghoneim said. Look at me now, I attend the same university as my friends but the only difference is that I'm one year ahead of them and I will get a head start in my career, he explained. Local and global accreditation Both Memphis and Manor House are accredited by CITA, whose standards, according to its website, "promote quality schools and continuous improvement to enhance student success. CITA also accredits 101 schools in Egypt, most of which offer the arguable model of American education. On the other hand, long-founded reputable schools as the Cairo American College (CAC) and the American International School (AIS) are accredited by The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA) that was founded in 1919. Wagdy Afifi, Education Minister Deputy for high school education and the head of the central administration for private education, denied all allegations that there may be any wrong-doing at the licensed schools. "The schools are under constant supervision and inspection from the ministry, he said. He rationalized the current American system s notorious reputation by saying that it is because it gives the student more than one chance to improve their grade. But the grade is based on several factors in contrast to the current Egyptian system in which the grade is completely based on the exam. In 1997, the Ministry of Education laid down requirements that a school offering the American diploma has to meet. "There are a number of procedures the school has to go through before the ministry licenses it to offer [the diploma], Afifi explained. First of which is the approvals of the Authority for Educational Buildings - that sets criteria for the measurements of classrooms, playgrounds, courts, ventilation and lighting among other factors - as well as of an international accreditation agency. Experts at the education ministry also evaluate the textbooks and syllabi offered at the school, since their content has to be equivalent to that of the thanaweya amma. "If they are approved, we move on to examining the school by a body of administrators, accountants, technicians, lawyers and an engineer from the Authority for Educational Buildings. "Afterwards the Committee for International Schools Affairs evaluates and examines the school's file and accordingly offers it the license or rejects its request, he explained.
