Egyptian Perspectives: Teacher Interview
This email interview was conducted in April 2013, between Paula Larink (PL), and twenty-six year old Aya Kamal (AK), a teacher in Cairo, Egypt. Fatema Talaat Fouda, a visiting student from Cairo University who is studying in the MBA program at MIIS, graciously translated the email.
PL: How long have you been a teacher in Egypt?
AK: I’ve been a teacher for five years.
PL: What kind of a school do you teach in?
AK: I teach in a private language school. I teach to KG1 and KG2 [Kindergarten 1 and Kindergarten 2].
PL: Do you conduct any private tutoring? If yes, where does the tutoring take place?
AK: No I don’t. Many of my friends do though, and it usually takes place in the kids’ home.
PL: How important is tutoring overall in Egyptian education?
AK: Private tutoring is important for limited numbers of the students, since they usually don’t comprehend everything in the classroom and teachers’ availability outside of the class room is very limited. I noticed that many parents use private tutors in order to make up for their lack of effort toward their kids education – in a way to reduce their guilt.
PL: What training did you have to undergo to become a teacher?
AK: I have a Bachelor of Science degree from the faculty of kindergarten, Cairo University, so I don’t need to take the government training that constitute a prerequisite for working as a teacher. Colleagues with no degree in teaching though had to take some training to work as teachers.
PL: What do you like most about your work?
AK: I like dealing with the kids and how fascinating their opinions turn to be. It is very significant for me that the kindergarten stage is a fundamental stage for his/her life.
PL: What is most difficult in your work?
AK: The number of kids in my class can reach 36, which is a huge number for the kindergarten stage. It makes it hard to complete the class ensuring that every kid got what he deserved.
PL: Are there requirements for your teaching? For example, are there certain subjects you must teach in a standard way that all teachers in Egypt teach? If yes, does anyone check on you to be sure that you do what you need to do?
AK: Well, the curriculum is determined by the central administration and we often receive visits to ensure that we follow the curriculum, textbooks and exercise books. There are still some standards that are not enforced and can be arranged by the teachers’ initiative like field visits.
PL: If there were anything you could change about your profession, what would it be?
AK: I would wish that my job (or any job) is less prescribed and less routine. Also, I wish that the curriculum allowed for more interaction and activities with the students rather than indoctrination.
PL: Has an educational non-governmental organization ever worked in your school or in a school you’re familiar with? How did it work out? What changed as a result?
AK: No! I did not hear of already established private or public schools working with NGOs. However, many NGOs work, usually on their own or with minimal government support and supervision, to bridge the education gap that is growing in many underserved areas, especially rural areas.
Fatema found the link to one of these schools, established by an NGO, in the heart of Cairo to help the garbage collector community. Here is the link:
http://garbagedreams.com/downloads/Spirit_of_Youth_Brochure.pdf
PL: How has the revolution impacted education so far?
AK: Well, there are some insignificant changes to the curriculum itself. As with many changes of government, each new regime feels that they have to leave their print.
Significant changes though happened to the school environment as part of the changes that happen to society. Students are able to speak up for themselves more than ever. Side discussions between class sessions among students as well as among teachers often include discussion of the political situation with such diverse opinions! Students’ discussions can include criticisms of the presidents’ decisions! That is a thing that you could have never seen in the past.
A funny story that happened in another school was when the school decided to give the students one break instead of two, the grade four and five students arranged themselves in a kind of demonstration chanting against the changes, “We want two breaks! We want two breaks!” I can’t wait to see this generation that learned to speak up for itself since its early stages – what they are they going to be like in the future.
PL: If you could change anything in Egypt’s education system, what would it be?
AK: As I mentioned before, the most important thing for me is to change or arrange the curriculum so it is less dependent on memorization and more dependent on problem solving and engaging with students, encouraging them to interpret the material critically!