EGYPT'S new Minister of Education Ahmed Zaki Badr is mistakenly walking in the shoes of his late father, who was the Minister of Interior. Regardless of their widely differing portfolios, the new Minister of Education declared on assuming office that he is going to imitate his father by adopting tough ministerial policies. Badr's father was known for his serious security measures against criminals and the Islamist militants, who attempted to destabilise Egyptian society in the 1980s. The late Minister of Interior came to power in 1986 after the security police had rioted in Cairo. For nearly four years he pursued a tough line on drug trafficking, black market currency speculating and extremism. He had several notable successes, but was ousted after making a number of shocking and slanderous gaffes against key members of the opposition parties and Muslim clerics. Badr, Jr came to power a month ago, apparently with a mission to set the nation's schools in order. His predecessor was doing well in office; no-one seems to know why he was evicted. Unlike his father, the new Minister of Education has vowed to tackle weak targets …quot; schoolchildren who cannot be compared with hardened thugs, criminals and armed militants. Badr has threatened to encourage teachers and headmasters to resurrect the barbaric culture of caning, in order to discipline the school bullies. He has also warned parents of dire consequences if they attempt to storm the schools, in order to rescue their children from fuming teachers. The entire nation listened in disbelief when the new Minister of Education promised that caning would 'help put education in Egypt on the right track'. The new Minister takes pride in the fact that he was himself a bully at school and that his teachers used to cane …quot; and perhaps even whip him …quot; in order to install some discipline into this future VIP. He claims that the physical punishment he received in his childhood had a positive effect on him, as he went on to shine academically. Badr, who has a PhD in engineering, is the former president of the prestigious Ain Shams University. Needless to say, the new Minister of Education's statements have shocked parents and their children. He has been accused of aiding and abetting violent teachers to splatter the walls of classrooms with the blood of the children. In the past few years, a growing number of teachers have stood in the dock on charges of causing GBH to children. One teacher ended up in prison after caning a schoolchild to death. Parents are also worried, because Badr has yet to reveal how he plans to fight private tuition, the scourge of local education. And like grandpa The Government of Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif would definitely lose a financial wizard, if it decided to get rid of its nightmare …quot; in the form of outrageous taxes …quot; by assassinating Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros-Ghali. Both the Premier and Boutros-Ghali should take the assassination threat seriously because it has been championed by none other than a security official called General Mohamed Abdel-Fatah Omar, who is a senior member of the Parliamentary Committee for National Security and Defence. The General, who was also Assistant to the Minister of Interior, has warned Boutros-Ghali to abruptly retract his provocative tax policies, if he doesn't want to meet a similar fate to that of his grand father, Boutros Pasha Ghali, who was Prime Minister from 1908 until he was assassinated in 1910. The former Police General made this threat when the committee met last week to discuss the economic problems caused by the grandson's financial policies. “This minister [the grandchild] snobbishly ignores the sufferings of Egyptian citizens,” declared Gen. Omar. “Unless he stops, he can expect to die like his grandfather, who was assassinated by the Egyptians because of his miscalculated policies.” Despite the wide repercussions of the General's threat, he repeated it when he phoned in to a TV talk show last week. But, infamous for his stubbornness, the Minister of Finance will not back off. He has ignored the threat. In fact, Nazif will probably encourage his Minister of Finance to conjure up more moneygenerating tax mechanisms. The Premier has probably told Boutros-Ghali, the grandchild, that a minister is like a brave soldier ready to shed his blood for the sake of his nation. But, if frustrated citizens carry out Gen. Omar's threat, the Minister of Finance will sacrifice his life for the sake of the Prime Minister and his cashstrapped Government. [email protected]
