Mohamed Abdel Latif, the Minister of Education, confirmed that evening school shifts will be phased out in primary schools by September 2027, in preparatory schools by 2028, and in secondary schools by 2029.
He stated that 87% of students attend public schools, while approximately 13% attend private and international schools. He explained that school attendance had previously stood at just 15% due to overcrowded classrooms, alongside a shortage of 469,000 teachers across schools.“The situation was like this, and at the same time, we were talking about the quality of education,” he said.
The minister added that the overcrowding crisis has been resolved, with no classroom accommodating more than 50 students. Attendance reached 87% last year and has exceeded 90% this year. He also stated that schools are no longer facing a teacher shortage.
He explained that the education system previously had 150,000 classrooms, and that EGP 250 billion had been spent over the past 10 years to address overcrowding. The ministry has a plan to reduce class sizes to between 40 and 45 students per classroom.
The minister noted that assessments had been suspended at one point. However, once students returned to school, assessments became an essential part of any education system. He also explained that curricula had undergone specialized revisions. For example:
English: Reviewed in cooperation with the British Council.
Mathematics: Reviewed in cooperation with Japan.
Arabic: Reviewed in cooperation with Al-Azhar.
Baccalaureate curricula: Developed in cooperation with the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO).
The minister continued by saying that the goal of addressing these challenges is to ensure students receive a high-quality education that meets international standards. When Egyptian students graduate, they should be able to compete with their peers in other countries.
He stressed that the ministry does not want Egyptian students to receive an inferior education in terms of the number of school days or assessments. Although it would be easy to make decisions to cancel assessments or reduce the number of school days, the ministry wants students to receive a good education.
He concluded by saying: “A good education requires temporary hardship. Teachers are carrying schools on their shoulders, and parents will have to bear with us a little longer.”
🖋️Source: Al-Ahram Portal
