Education In Egypt

To understand modern Egyptian education, an explanation of historical development is in order. Shifting leadership, power, philosophy, culture and intention have strongly impacted Egyptian education, bringing the country to a system in need of reform today.

Changing leadership and policies have been a constant force in the Egyptian educational development. Overarching and relevant influences are religion, evident in the Islamic educational system that was first formed and still exists today, British occupation, which followed, and secular Egyptian education, which developed as the result of the two previous factors.

Egypt is chronicled through more than 7,000 years. (See the earlier blog entitled, “Selective Historical Egypt Timeline” for visual representation.) Education played an important role in the early days of society. Up to about 2686BC, culture was developed through the written word, and the formation of religion and societal structures took shape. Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt gave rise to the Age of the Pharaohs, which lasted for many centuries until invasion ended Pharaonic rule in 525BC. As early as 323BC, Alexandria, Egypt housed one of the world’s first and most extensive libraries. The Ancient Library of Alexandria was a pivotal place for scholarship until around 30BC when the Romans conquered Egypt. The Romans ruled Egypt until 640AD until the Arab conquest of Egypt. At this point, society shifted from a Christian to a Muslim culture, and adopted the Arabic language. Temples housed formal education, and included subjects in the sciences, medicine, and the arts. (6) In 972AD an Islamic system of education was formed through Al Azhar University. It’s teaching methodology is based on the tenants of the Quran. This act laid the groundwork for the religious education track that still exists today.  Between 868 and 1260, dynasties ruled Egypt, followed by Turkish tribes, who took over until 1517. At that time, the Ottoman Empire conquered and until 1798, little emphasis was placed on education. Napoleon was next to exert his power, albeit just for the short span between 1798-1801. It is said that French influence is still highly visible in Egyptian life today. (13) The foundation of modern Egyptian education was heavily impacted by the policies and decision making of a series of individuals who lead Egypt after Napoleon, from 1805 until present time. A review of the key individuals follows, within the socio-political backdrop of their time.

Ottoman pasha Muhammad Ali ruled Egypt from 1805 to 1848. He is credited with having created the “dual education system” in Egypt that still exists today. While the Islamic educational system was already in place, it did not support the economic growth Ali envisioned. Instead of modifying or recreating the existing system, he designed and implemented a parallel secular system that was entirely funded by the government. He relied on European models of education and foreign advisors. Structured with a top down philosophy, he first created a parallel higher education institution, catering to military elite, fashioned to support new leaders and develop the economy. Over time, he developed secondary and primary systems as well. The goal was to develop intelligent, balanced citizens who would support Egyptian growth. Ali’s plans were seen as a threat to Ottoman and British economic plans. The opening of the Suez Canal had made Egypt strategically important in the world economy. Eventually agreements were signed that broke up Egypt’s economic dominance in the area. Ali’s influence declined, as did the economy, making the recently created second educational system obsolete. Leaders after Ali did not support education in the same way and did not commit the resources or planning that Ali had.

Ismail led the country in 1863. He was able to reopen an agency Ali had created, the “Committee of Public Instruction”, and made progress in regaining control of education for the government but his personal love of excess and the resulting economic challenges eventually led Egypt to bankruptcy, paving the road for British Occupation in 1882. Consul general Sir Evelyn Baring, otherwise known as “Lord Cromer”, who had been the British controller in Ismail’s cabinet, then led Egypt.

Cromer’s focus was getting Egypt back to financial solvency, which did not mean investing heavily in education. On the contrary, British intention was to develop leadership to support the British staying in power. Their plan for the masses was to keep them illiterate as a means of cementing British rule.  The Egyptian educated elite that they created helped to keep their power structure in place, as these individuals were indebted to the British for their own social standing and success. This model had severe impacts on the average Egyptian citizen. Population rates exploded between 1882 and 1907, with growth rates from 7 million to 11 million people. The leadership of the day did not invest in additional educational institutions. Literacy rates plummeted to 5% of the population in 1922 (6), causing an obvious negative impact on societal development as a whole. This was the backdrop for Egypt’s independence, which also happened in 1922.

Taha Hussein was the country’s first blind Minister of Education in 1950. A statement from a museum dedicated to him in Egypt states, “Dr. Taha Hussein (1889-1973) is the doyen of Arabic literature and one of the most celebrated figures of Egyptian contemporary cultural and intellectual history.” (8) He fought for Egyptian literacy and believed it was a right that all should have. He was famously quoted to say, “Education is like the water we drink and the air we breathe.”(15) He reestablished the system of free education for all Egyptians.

Under Gamal Abdel Nasser, an Arab Nationalist who officially led Egypt beginning in 1954, many social welfare programs benefitted the Egyptian population. Free education for all was an important element of his programs and even included students from other Muslim countries. Both Islamic and secular education benefited from development under his tenure. College graduates were guaranteed government employment as part of formal education plans that were made over several year periods. He died in 1970.

Anwar Sadat had been affiliated with Nasser for years, serving first as his PR Minister. He shifted Egypt’s priorities during his leadership period from 1970 to 1981. He wanted to open up and liberalize economic policies under a program called, “Open Door Policy”. He did away with the guaranteed government employment policy that college graduates had enjoyed, resulting in high levels of unemployment for graduates. Many new educational institutions opened in the 1970s while professors looked to better wages in other countries. Fundamentalists assassinated him in October 1981. His policies had caused tensions with conservative Muslim groups.

Hosni Mubarak, who was Sadat’s Vice President, and escaped with mild injuries when Sadat was killed, led officially from 1982 to 2011, bringing Egypt to current times. His leadership was highly controversial, ending in revolution in Egyptian society. Despite this point and many related ones, which will be reviewed more thoroughly in the next posting, his education policies were intended to create advancements in all areas of education, with the goal of developing the whole person as a means to elevate Egyptian society economically. His plan was called “The Grand Revival”.

Significant changes in Egypt’s leadership, philosophy, planning and goals have continuously impacted the quality and stability of Egyptian education for hundreds of years. In addition, while the leaders all wanted free education, tried to keep up with the world in sciences, humanities, and technology, lack of educational spending and population growth have crippled the state funded education system. For the purposes of focus and brevity, this article does not give details of multiple political factors, factions, revolutions, and wars, which have been an ever-present force shaping the nation and it’s education system by default.

Currently, In addition to Islamic and public secular education, private institutions are part of today’s system, offering an alternative to crumbling state institutions, over-crowded classrooms, lack of adequate teacher training in some cases and lack of teacher mobility and funding. Private schools are costly, and often include Western-based curriculum models, foreign language training, and higher quality programs in sciences and technology. (See photos and cartoons below.) Stakeholders inside and outside Egypt agree that systemic reform is in order, however agreement on methodology has been difficult to achieve, particularly in light of all that is happening socially and politically in Egypt today. Further exploration of this topic will be the focus of future posts.

Sources (noted by number in the text as appropriate):

1.Hartmann, Sarah, “The Informal Market of Education in Egypt. Private Tutoring and Its Implications”, Gutenberg Universitat Mainz, Institut fur Ethnologie und Afrikanstudien, Arbeitspapiere Nr. 88, 2008.

2.Chediac, Joyce, “The upheaval in Egypt: what impact on U.S. Imperialism”, http://www.workers.org/2011/world/upheaval_in_egypt_0224/, Feb 21, 2011.

3.E.Roger Owen, “Muhammad Ali: A View from the New World”, cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu, Sept.30, 2005.

4.Russell,Mona,”Competing, Overlapping, and Contradictory Agendas:Egyptian Education Under British Occupation, 1882-1922”,Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, Volume 21, Number 1&2, pp.50-60, 2001. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/cst/summary/v021/21.1russell01.html

5. Megahed, Nagwa, and Ginsburg, Mark, Education Policy Analysis Archives, “Globalization and the Reform of Faculties of Education in Egypt: The Roles of Individual and Organizational, National and International Actors”, Volume 19, Number 15, May 30, 2011.

6.Marlow-Ferguson, Rebecca, and Chris Lopez “World Education Encyclopedia. A Survey of Educational Systems Worldwide”, 2^nd ed. Farmington Hills: Gale Group, 2002.

7.Wikimedia Foundation, “Taha Hussein”updated Feb. 23, 2013, “Education in Egypt”,updated Feb.16, 2013.

8.Egypt: The Ramatan, Taha Hussein Museum, Cairo, Egypt, http://www.touregypt.net/tahamuseum.htm,

http://www.ibiblio.org/sullivan/bios/Sadat-bio.html, “Anwar Sadat”.

9.Decimus, AncientVine.com,”Alexandria The Pearl of the Meditteranean”,2013. http://www.ancientvine.com/alexandria_egypt.html

10.EncyclopediaBritannica,”Library of Alexandria”,http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/14417/Library-of-Alexandria

11.Kondos,Ramon,Your Egypt,“Timeline, A Chronology of key events in Egypt’s history”, 2009. http://www.youregypt.com/ehistory/timeline/

12.Ancient Egyptian Timeline for Children & Kids, http://www.history.timelines.org.uk

13. Fouda, Fatema Talaat, Egyptian MIIS student, interview by Paula Larink, conducted February, 2013.

14. Associated Press, “Hosni Mubarak’s Rule and Downfall – timeline”, June 2, 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/02/hosni-mubarak-rule-downfall-timeline

15. Bibliotheca Alexandria, The New Library of Alexandria, Taha Hussein Library, http://www.bibalex.org/library/tahahussein_en.aspx

The topic of public, state funded education vs. private family funded education is a major consideration in Egypt. Within the category of public schooling, families have the choice of traditional state-based secular schooling or religious schooling. Religious schools are primarily Islamic (though there is a small Christian percentage of the population) and feed into a single religious university .

Private schools are expensive and elite, with resources more readily available. They are divided into further categories which include international schools that not only teach language, but stylistically, may also teach to the culture of origin. English and French are popular, as the Egyptian culture still bears the memory of both British occupation and French influence under Napolean. While the British era is considered to have significantly decreased the quality and access of education to the masses by design, the French period was brief and according to Fatima, had more of a cultural impact on the country. Students still learn English and French in various areas of the school system, public or private.

The cartoon below illustrates one popular sentiment in the public vs. private debate.

Statistics from the World Education Encyclopedia, 2002 show the following:

EgyptPrivateEnroll

I believe these numbers have changed more recently, but it gives us an indication of Egypt’s path leading up to the revolution. Illiteracy is still a major factor in Egypt as well. It is heavily impacted by birth rates, which continue to be high in Egypt. (I will provide population statistics in future posts.)

EgyptIlliteracy

I’m not sure who I feel more sorry for here (above)

This looks more familiar to us (below)

..

I had to work hard to find pictures of women in education. Googling “Egyptian women in education” or “Egyptian women at school” gave me the same group of photos like these:

Googling “Egyptian Women in classroom” had more of the same, with a few additional shots:

I’m intrigued by the woman in western clothing teaching the women in traditional dress. After speaking with Fatima, my views are that clothing choice in Eygpt (in school or elsewhere) actually is more of a choice than we might have thought . What we can gather from all the photos is that adult education in Egypt is a mix of men and women (and sometimes children with men and women!).  It is linked to the revolution, and the Islamic influence in culture is part of the natural backdrop. My research supports this notion as well.

What forces have shaped Egyptian Education? Perhaps a more relevant question is what forces haven’t shaped Egyptian education? Take a look at the timeline to get a glimpse into a long and varied history with political, economic, religious and social factors playing major roles. Egypt Timeline.

I asked Fatima to review the blog so far to tell us what we’re seeing in the photos. She said that of the public and private school comparison, it’s likely that the first photo is a public school due to crowding and the state of the classroom. She thought the second photo (boys in blue shirts) could also be public as students are more dressed up in private classrooms. The Arabic text on the cartoons says, “Private School” on the left and “Public School” on the right. The vendors in front of the public school are typical food vendors. She said you might send the 15 kids who lunched there home due to illness from whatever they ate!

Fatima Fouda is an MBA student at the American University in Cairo studying for one semester at MIIS. Listen to our brief interview  

to hear her thoughts on America, rules on wearing the hijab, French influence on Egyptian culture and her thoughts about population growth and families. Click below!

Download the interview

Notice the difference in these two photos. The top photo is most likely a public school, which is government funded and free to all citizens. Class sizes are large, while classrooms may not be. The photo below is most likely a private school, funded by the parents of the student.

A cartoonist further depicts the challenges in public vs. private:

How many times do we judge something on first impression and assume it to be the way of the world? Weeks later and with significant research behind me, I’ve found plenty of photos and information about women and men, girls and boys in Egyptian education. Gender issues will surface in the weeks to come. For now, I’ll attempt to offer an overview of a very dynamic, ever changing, growing, struggling country and its education system. In addition to our primary focus, we’ll dispel myths and stereotypes, hear from Egyptians in various roles, and try to gain a perspective of some of the forces that led to the Egyptian Revolution. Welcome to Egypt!