second draft



*second draft*

*Education in Egypt*

               

                     Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another . since upon the education of the people of any country, the fate of this country depends . Education plays a very decisive role in the development of any country or culture. If all the members of any society have done the basic education then they can contribute to developing a crime free and progressive society. In recent years the Government of Egypt has accorded even greater priority in improving the education system.The education system in Egypt is not only the largest in the Middle East and North Africa region but also one of the largest in the world.

                 The Egyptian educational system is highly centralized. it consists of three levels: the basic education stage for 4–14 years old: kindergarten for two years followed by primary school for six years and preparatory school for three years. Then, the secondary school stage is for three years, for ages 15 to 17, followed by the tertiary level. Education is made compulsory for 9 academic years between the ages of 6 and 14. The basic education  aims at  developing various aspects of the personality of the learner, implanting a sense of national belonging and the development of the learner ability to interact with the world around him. Also ,it aims to reduce the dropout rate among students.

                    Secondary education consists of three different types: general, technical or vocational. Technical education, which is provided in three-year and five-year programs, includes schools in three different fields: industrial, commercial and agricultural. In this way students will be able to gain certification in practical skills needed in the job market. Secondary education aims to provide the students with different types of  the general culture and special studies in arts and sciences. Moreover, to encourage creativity and develop the capacity, skills and attitudes desired, and provide opportunities for training and modern technology. Also, to develop scientific thinking in students and to encourage the spirit of research ,experimentation ,free reading and to develop language skills to gain knowledge to continue self-education .

             

               On the one hand, education in Egypt has witnessed big improvements as school enrolment has remarkably increased. Illiteracy among youth has also remarkably fallen. It  has many positive aspects such as focusing  on some specific issues, namely: National unity (that is, of Muslims and Copts); preservation of national, religious and cultural identity and social coherence and the promotion of democracy. There is also an increase in the number of schools to accommodate the large numbers of students.

                 On the other hand, Education is undergoing in Egypt at a critical juncture. As there are some factors hinder good education, such as overcrowding in classes, teaching by rote, private lessons and the yawning gap between education and job market requirements. Since a serious mismatch between supply and demand produced incompetent degree-holders in unwanted subjects .Moreover, the education system suffers from the low financial returns of teaching personnel, Lack of appropriate curriculum to the needs of the community and the low level of the relationship between the school and the family. And the policy of education in Egypt is not based on planning. we find the high school is one of the biggest educational issues ,as it has become a nightmare threatening our students. Egypt also has a shortage of skilled and semi-skilled work force .In addition , Violence in schools has become a cancer is spreading in our society  from the side of both teacher and student.

                  As Taha Hussein said "Education is as indispensable as water and air", so we have to do our best to let our children receive effective and useful education .we can eradicate the diseases of education through the  axes of development  such as increasing the role of youth in designing educational policies. In addition, we have to encourage creativity and establishing science clubs in schools, as there is a proverb says" Practice is the best of all instructors". School textbooks really need to be updated, the authors of school text books should integrate concepts and contemporary issues in the curriculum to make students cope with the international changes. There should be a comprehensive cooperation among all members of the community . The ministry of education has to pay more attention to teachers through giving them training courses and raising their salaries . There should be solidarity among family , school, and student.Educational institutions must be equipped with sports tools to empty the capacity of the students in anything useful and to uproot the violence of our society .By following these steps, we can provide our society with youth who are able to achieve the greatness for Egypt  and make it  in the ranks of developed countries.

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