CAIRO: Egypt's Minister of Education Ahmed Zaki Badr, announced that 300 new schools around the country will start operating for the first time in the new academic year this September. All school maintenance work, repairs and renovations have been completed, Badr said at a press conference upon inspecting schools in Fayoum, according to a statement by the ministry. Badr also said that there will be no increases in tuition fees this year, and that tuition fees for technical education have been reduced to encourage students to join in order to meet the high demand for its graduates on the job market. Earlier this month, Badr warned all private schools against raising tuition fees, stating that no increase can be implemented without official approval from him. The new academic year is scheduled to start after the Eid vacation in mid-September. The minister noted that all textbooks are ready, but that there is a shortage of some sixth and eighth grade and senior year books because of changes made to the syllabi. Badr, who has been making surprise inspections on schools around Egypt ever since he was appointed minister last January, pointed out the importance of inspections at the end of the school day by headmasters and principles. Badr warned that ignoring the daily inspection rounds on classrooms and labs will be penalized, as he will not tolerate any negligence of schools resources, such as electricity, water and infrastructure.
