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Basic education consists of pre-primary, primary and preparatory levels of education. Irrespective of whether they are private or state-run, all pre-school institutions come under the Ministry of Education. The ministry receives support from international agencies, such as the World Bank, to enhance the early childhood education system by increasing access to schools, improving the quality of education and building the capacity of teachers.
The second tier of basic compulsory education is the preparatory or lower secondary stage which lasts for three years. Completion of this tier grants students the Basic Education Completion Certificate. It is important for students to complete this level of education, as early drop outs easily recede into illiteracy and eventually poverty.
Secondary education, which is also compulsory, consists of three tracks: general, vocational / technical and the dual system vocational education which is represented in Mubarak Kohl schools. The general secondary stage includes three years of education, whereas the secondary vocational track could be for three-five years and three years for the dual system vocational education.
To enter the secondary level, students must pass a national exam at the end of the preparatory stage. At this level, students have assessments during the first year, and the average of the end of year national standardised exams for year two and three qualifies the students to take the Certificate of General Secondary Education-Thanawiya Amma.
Technical/Vocational Secondary Education Technical education, which is provided in three-year and five-year programmes, includes schools in three different fields: industrial, commercial and agricultural. The UN and other multilateral organisations are working towards improving the technical and vocational training system in Egypt.
Another system that runs in parallel with the public educational system is the Al-Azhar system. It consists of four years of primary stage, a three year preparatory stage and finally three years of secondary stage. Al Azhar education system is supervised by the Supreme Council of the Al-Azhar Institution.
The Azhar Institution itself is nominally independent from the Ministry of Education, but is ultimately supervised by the Egyptian Prime Minister. Al Azhar schools are called ‘institutes’ and include primary, preparatory, and secondary phases. All schools in all stages teach religious subjects and non-religious subjects. The bulk of the curriculum, however, consists of religious subjects.
Egypt has an extensive higher education system. About 30% of all Egyptians in the relevant age group go to university. However, only half of them graduate.
The Ministry of Higher Education supervises the tertiary level of education. There are a number of universities catering to students in diverse fields. In the current education system, there are 17 public universities, 51 public non-university institutions, 16 private universities and 89 private higher institutions. Of the 51 non–university institutions, 47 are Middle Technical Institutes offering two-year courses and four are Higher Technical Institutes offering four-five year courses. The higher education cohort was expected to increase by close to 6% (60,000 students) in 2009.
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