Media Center denies photos of students sitting on floor were taken in Egypt

CAIRO – 2 October 2018: The Media Center of the Council of Ministers denied Tuesday that the photos showing students sitting on the ground in classrooms without seats were taken in Egypt.

The Ministry of Education issued a statement reporting that the photos spread on social media were taken in a school in Karbala city in Iraq and published on an Iraqi news website in October 2013.

The statement also added that the ministry is following every photo or video captured inside an Egyptian school.

In the same context, on October 1, 2018, Minister of Education Tarek Shawky denounced Al-Jazeera's criticism of some pages extracted from the Arabic language curriculum of the new educational system.

On his official Facebook page, Shawky remarked that Al-Jazeera TV Channel is insulting Egypt, referring that no mistakes are found in these pages as they contain “little songs for children” written by the Music Education Counselor.

"I would like to explain that these pages do not have mistakes, but they just contain little songs for children. It is written in the Teacher's Guide to teach children topics and words through art and singing."

Al-Jazeera TV Channel posted some pages from the Arabic language curriculum of the new educational system to criticize them, claiming that they have several mistakes.

Egypt has launched a new educational system, starting from 2018/2019 academic year. In an attempt to develop education in Egypt, the state is introducing technology into public schools.

The system will depend on new curricula, new assessment and professional teachers, as the minister of education referred.

In December, Shawky said that 1 million tablets will be distributed among 10th grade students, teachers and school directors in 2018/2019 academic year. He added that the tablets will be given for free and will not be returned.

Furthermore, around 2500 schools have access to the internet service, and by the beginning of the new academic year all schools across Egypt will have internet access, which is a part of the plan to develop the educational system.

On the other hand, the Media Center of the Council of Ministers reassured the public that the new Cumulative Secondary School System will be implemented at Japanese and public Arabic schools only for the 2018/2019 academic year.

The Cumulative Secondary School System will not be stopped, only updated.

Elaborating on the new Cumulative Secondary School System, the Ministry of Education pointed out that the new system will be applied for the first time in the academic year 2018/2019; accordingly, students will sit a total of 12 examinations through their three years in high school—each year they will sit four examinations. The ministry also noted that the cumulative result will be calculated based on the mean of the four examinations in which students scored highest.

Moreover, the ministry indicated that the 700,000 educational tablets, which are meant to help students study in a more innovative and original way, will be distributed over the course of the first semester, while 50,000 tablets will be distributed in October. The ministry assured that the students will not be negatively affected by the distribution plans, assuring parents and students that students will gain the most out of this experience.

The Ministry of Education also announced that the Japanese schools have been set-up and are ready for use this school year. The ministry confirmed that the schools are equipped to the highest level.

The schools will focus on teaching the Egyptian curriculum, while implementing some distinctive features of Japanese education, such as focusing on music, arts and collective games, as well as teaching cleanliness and self-reliance.

Enrollment in the schools started this year, and classes began in September with the 2018/2019 educational year.