National Academy for Youth Training to be inaugurated by end of 2018

CAIRO – 7 October 2018: The National Academy for Youth Training and Rehabilitation started working, and will be officially inaugurated by the end of 2018 by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Executive Director of the academy Rasha Ragheb said.

During an interview with “dmc Evening”, Ragheb remarked that 200,000 students have applied for the academy, and only 500 will be chosen.

“The applicants will undergo Arabic and English tests as well as general information and intelligence level tests. The geographical distribution will also be considered while choosing the candidates,” she added.

Studying at the academy will last for eight months, and students should submit an application through the academy’s website.

President Sisi issued a decree on August 28 to form a national academy to train, empower and enhance the abilities of youth in various fields.

The academy’s headquarters is located in 6 October city; it includes six buildings and is established on an area of 10,000 square meters. The academy falls under the jurisdiction of the presidency, and its board of trustees will be headed by the prime minister and will include representatives from the presidency, the ministries of higher education, planning, and finance, in addition to a number of distinguished figures.

The academy’s curriculum was designed in cooperation with a number of international scientific institutions and aims to follow France’s École nationale d'administration curriculum, according to Al-Ahram news agency.

Minister of Planning, Follow-Up and Administrative Reform, Hala al-Saeed, said that the academy represents a permanent institutional framework for training youth, presenting all public and private sectors’ initiatives to support youth. She also confirmed that the budget for training state employees will increase to LE 1 billion ($56.6 million), compared to LE 113 million in 2017, to better serve the economic and social development plan.

The academy’s establishment came as the main recommendation of the first youth conference in November 2016 in Sharm El-Sheikh.
Reactions to the presidential decree to establish the National Academy for Youth:

A number of political figures welcomed the presidential decree and said that it reflects the president and state’s commitment to empower youth, who represent 23.6 percent of the population in Egypt.

Members of the Presidential Pardon Committee in the Parliament, Kareem al-Saqqa and Tarek Kholy, demanded utilizing the Youth Training Academy to rehabilitate the young released detainees. They also explained that the academy will represent a safe environment to youth and will contribute to preparing new leaders for the future to hold vital positions in the country, including representation in the Parliament and the local councils.

Member of the Sports and Youth Committee in the Parliament, Farag Amer, described the decree as a great decree that reflects Sisi’s commitment to create effective communication channels to bridge the gap with youth and to protect them from extreme ideologies and terrorists.