Education and the school market

Chiara Diana et Annalaura Turiano

p. 58-59


Texte intégral

24%48%1/5Mid-19th century
illiteracy among the over ten-year-olds in 2017of children in education in 2017 are girls (except university)of those enrolled (6-20 years) drop out of schoolRifa’a Tahtawi promotes the education of girls
Source: CAPMAS, 2017

Education, a pillar of modern Egypt

1From the 1920s education constituted one of the major issues of “independent” Egypt. The education sector was there to serve nation building and the creation of the citizen. Schooling advanced at a different pace depending on gender. In 1922 four times as many boys received education as girls, and twice as many in 1954, with the gender ratio being almost equal. From the outset the educational landscape featured the coexistence of several systems: public/private, Egyptian/foreign, communitarian and missionary. The foreign and missionary network played a crucial role in the formation of elites: in 1939 there were 400 such establishments representing almost a quarter of the student population.

2The regime that arose from the 1952 revolution made universal education a priority. Nasserite education policies aimed at reinforcing public schooling within a highly centralised system. Law No. 160 of 1958 officially abolished foreign teaching and ensured Arabisation. Significant public funding resulted in the spread of formal education. In 1960 66% of children were enrolled in primary school. Free education extended to all levels. In 1961 Law 301, which “nationalised” Al-Azhar, aligned primary and secondary programmes with that of the Ministry of Education and created “civil” education faculties (in engineering, commerce, medicine, pharmacy, agriculture, law schools etc.). University, which had until then been the preserve of the elite, was thrown wide open: Cairo University had more than 50,000 students in 1970. On the strength of its educational system Egypt was able to send teachers to other Arab and African countries to provide the teaching of Arabic.

3.11 Education of girls at all levels (1910-1989)

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Globalisation of the education market

3The economic crisis and the liberal economic policies of the 1970s and 1980s affected the education system, faced as it was by increasing cohorts of students. From the 1990s public sector schooling deteriorated despite the interventions of international organisations (UNESCO, World Bank, UNDP etc.) and foreign funding (USAID, European countries, Japan etc.) to develop a quality education system for all. Traditional teaching methods including passive, rote learning, were part of the crisis in the educational system, which was to be typified by overcrowded classrooms and poorly paid and badly trained teachers.

4Reliance on private lessons, often provided by the students’ regular teachers, is common, and has become a necessary option in the attempt to gain a diploma. In 2012, 43% of primary school children, 61% in middle school, and 73% in secondary establishments received such lessons. This expensive practice is especially prevalent in towns and involves all social classes.

5The move towards privatisation has accelerated and a wide range of private schools have become available. Alongside the private Islamic schools, and those run by Christians, there are schools offering new methods and approaches to teaching and learning with instruction in Arabic and/or a foreign language, so-called language schools. The annual school fees of a private school in 2012 averaged at LE3,457 as compared to LE50 in public schools. Privatisation also involves higher education. Fifteen new private universities opened their doors between 1992 – the year of Law 101 authorising the creation of private universities – and 2006. Fees are high and registration alone can reach LE100,000 per annum. The 22 private universities in Egypt in 2016 attracted a small minority of students: 94% attend public universities.

3.12 Private lessons and private universities

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Persistent problems

6On the national level, there has been progress in education during recent decades. The number of public nursery schools has grown from 100 in 1998 to 5910 in 2008. School enrolment at primary level reached 98% in 2003 (as against 63% in 1970) and 87% for secondary compared with 28% in 1970. The education of girls has been encouraged by developmental policies and the creation of “girl friendly” schools, especially in rural areas. A large number of women are enrolled in universities: 3.7 million females for 4.7 million males in 2016.

7Significant spatial disparities persist in access to education. In 2012-2013, in certain governorates of the Delta and Upper Egypt (Assiut, Beni Suef, Minya, Matruh, and Sohag), the percentage of children not receiving basic education (6 to 14 years) was clearly higher than the national average (5.7%). In Beni Suef governorate almost 11% of children were not in school (15% for girls), that is, almost double the national average. The state of war in Sinai since 2013 has obstructed the efficient delivery of schooling.

8The growth in school enrolment has been accompanied by a slow reduction in illiteracy (5.7 million in the 10-34 age group in 2017). The increasing phenomenon of children, especially between 16 and 20 years of age, dropping out of school is a sign of an education system in crisis, and is linked to poor performance and/or financial reasons.

9The content of schoolbooks is marked by the dominant role of Islam and an increased status of Muslim heritage to the detriment of Coptic history, and thus portrays a sectarian representation of citizenship

3.13 Number of pupil enrolled in different education stages

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3.14 Percentages of unschooled children per governorate (2012-2013)

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