D. Ayman Ashour: Improving the outcomes of pre-university education enhances the quality of university education and meets the needs of the labor market
This evening, the Ministry of Education and Technical Education continued a series of community dialogue sessions on the proposal for the “Egyptian Baccalaureate System,” where it held a discussion session with members of the House of Representatives, in the presence of Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and Mr. Mohamed Abdel Al-Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education, and Counselor Mahmoud Fawzi, Minister of Parliamentary and Legal Affairs and Political Communication, with the aim of listening to the opinions and proposals of the representatives regarding this system.
The session was attended by the members The Education and Scientific Research Committee of the House of Representatives, and a number of gentlemen heads of the parliamentary bodies of the parties represented in the House, and gentlemen independent representatives, including Dr. Ali Gomaa, former Mufti of the Republic, member of the Council of Senior Scholars and Chairman of the Religious Committee in the House of Representatives, Representative Mustafa Bakri, and Dr. Sahar Attia.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, stressed the importance of community dialogue to exchange opinions and proposals regarding the implementation of the new Egyptian baccalaureate certificate system, pointing out the importance of community participation in the vision of The two ministries to develop the educational system as desired, stressing that university education is an extension of pre-university education, as the pre-university student is considered a graduate who is qualified in universities to be prepared for active participation in society and the labor market.Dr. Ayman Ashour pointed out the importance of integrating the vision between the Ministries of Higher Education and Education to develop the Egyptian education system in line with the needs of the labor market, explaining that the Egyptian baccalaureate system and the foundation year constitute a joint strategic vision aimed at developing Education paths by focusing on the skills required in the labor market, pointing out that improving the outcomes of pre-university education contributes to raising the quality of university education, and enhances its ability to meet the needs of the labor market, especially in light of the emergence of new specializations, such as: artificial intelligence, genomic medicine, And big data, stressing the importance of supporting these fields in Egypt to qualify students to keep pace with future developments.
Dr. Ayman Ashour reviewed the educational paths available in Egyptian universities, explaining that they are in line with the needs of the current and future labor market, noting that the study programs in Various specializations, such as life sciences and medicine, natural sciences, engineering and technology, social sciences and business administration, and arts and humanities, are subject to constant updating in accordance with the latest global trends, making them respond to the requirements of the industrial and production sectors and development plans in Egypt.
The doctor stressed that Ayman Ashour said that the foundation year is an important step to support students who have not obtained the grades required for the specializations they wish to enroll in, pointing out that this system is in effect globally, as well as in the branches of foreign universities located in Egypt, pointing out that the foundation year is granted For a student who did not obtain the minimum qualifying grades for a particular major by a difference of 5%, which gives him the opportunity to join the desired major. He added that the goal of this year is to enhance the students’ academic and technical skills; Which contributes to reducing the gap between the outcomes of higher education and the requirements of the labor market, and leads to the provision of qualified cadres that meet its needs. He also stressed that the foundation year aims to reduce the number of expatriate students seeking study opportunities abroad.
For his part, Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education, stressed the importance of the effective role of the House of Representatives in supporting the government to improve the educational process as it is a common issue that requires strengthening cooperation between all parties, to achieve the desired reforms in education, indicating that the Ministry is keen To be open to all opinions and proposals, and that it seeks through community dialogue to reach any proposals to improve the system currently presented for discussion and to study and benefit from these proposals, stressing that the Ministry has worked hard to cooperate with all parties in putting forward the new proposal.
The Minister of Education said that in response to many questions, the most important of which is why extensive decisions were made to amend the educational system before the start of the school year, especially for the secondary stage, and how the idea of development began to reach the proposal. Baccalaureate, explaining that the problems facing the educational process were identified, and quick measures were taken to solve these problems, stressing that the Ministry succeeded in developing positive and constructive solutions to the chronic challenges of the educational process that have continued for about 30 years, including student densities that reached 120 students per class. Currently, it has reached less than 50 students, as well as addressing the problem of the shortage in the number of teachers, especially in the basic subjects, in addition to the student attendance rate, which currently reaches more than 85%, after it was not It exceeds 9%.
The Minister of Education added that consideration was also given to the secondary stage, in which 32 subjects are taught, so the motive was to make decisions to merge subjects before the start of the academic year to alleviate the burden on the 3 million students studying in the secondary stage. Pointing out that this was a temporary measure to quickly solve a problem on the ground, until an integrated vision for development is completed.
The Minister of Education also stressed that the restructuring steps were the result of a group of research and studies, from During the National Research Center, meetings with experts, study of the experiences and proposals of former ministers, and extensive meetings with former and current professors and deans of colleges of education, it was concluded that there should be a vision of development that alleviates the burden on our students who are studying 32 subjects compared to their peers at the same stage who are studying in… The same period is between 8 and 10 subjects only.
During the meeting, Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif reviewed the new Egyptian baccalaureate proposal system, stressing that we We worked hard to put forward the proposal, aiming to achieve a better future for our children, and it was only put forward after developing thoughtful plans for educational systems around the world by experts, members of the National Council for Educational Research, and professors of colleges of education, in addition to holding intensive sessions to study this proposal in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Universities.< /p>
The Minister of Education explained that the new Egyptian baccalaureate system includes 7 subjects divided into two academic years and has 4 specialized scientific tracks: (Medicine and Life Sciences track – Engineering track) And computer science – business track – arts and literature track).
The minister added that some general rules have been established within the Egyptian baccalaureate system, which are that the student has two opportunities to take the exam during the academic year, the period of May and July and the period of June and August, continuing: " We had a high school system that did not qualify for university entrance, but the new proposed system qualifies a graduate with abilities and skills to enter university that helps him chart his future and choose his future professional path with the possibility of modifying it, which enhances the opportunities for our students.”
Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif added that the new baccalaureate system removes the pressure on parents and students, gives the student more than one opportunity, and reduces the psychological and financial burden every year due to high school in its traditional form.
He pointed out The Minister noted that the learning outcomes that we are working on were developed by the Supreme Council of Universities, based on scientific studies and ongoing research into the skills and knowledge needed by the student who will join the university in each major.
