Education Minister reveals plans for developing pre-university education

CAIRO – 8 May 2017: Egyptian Education Minister, Tareq Shawky, revealed on Monday plans for adopting a new “cumulative grading system” for high schools in Egypt (known in Arabic as Thanaweya Amma), the gateway to universities in the country.

During a Monday conference addressing creative solutions to developing pre-university education in Egypt, Shawky said that the cumulative grading system will replace the current one where the grades of only one year determine which university the student will enter.

The minister criticized the one-year scoring system as “illogical,” before adding that it will be replaced by a cumulative grading system of three high school years.

This way, the students “will have a chance to improve their grades each year,” Shawky explained.

Thanaewya Amma is considered as the pre-university stage in Egypt, during which time a student’s future college is determined based on scores in standardized tests.

But for Shawky, test scores often “do not reflect the student’s real capabilities.” He also expressed his view that high school students have become too fixated on test scores before adding that Egypt ranks low in world education rankings.

Since the test scores alone and not coursework determine entry, many students skip school to find more time for home studying and private classes. However, Shawky condemned private classes as “ruining students.”

Shawky noted that the educational curricula in all countries are “enjoyable,” unlike those taught in Egypt. He also pointed out that new plans, yet to be adopted by the ministry, are underway to alleviate the academic stress experienced by both students and parents.

During the Monday conference, organized by the Cairo University and the Akhbar el-Youm press institution, Shawky announced that the ministry is aiming to build 100 schools in accordance with the Japanese model of education.