Blog #2: Social problems in Educating Egypt

The article begins by a taxi driver making a statement about bad traffic then adding “How bad is it going to be when schools open?” The writer of the article is from Egypt and begins to question why in Egypt they don’t cancel schools. She claims it would save money and why even have an educational system that does not do a good job educating the children. She feels as If the teachers are not qualified for their jobs. The article goes on to mention that many students are having to spend money on tutoring and private lessons the article states that 60 percent of primary and preparatory students and about 80 percent of general secondary students receive private tutoring. The education system is failing at providing quality education to the children. Next, the article tries to discover the problems within their educational system, it starts with funding. Funding is not the problem the article mentioned that their spending is comparable to that of the richer countries. The problem is ineffective and inefficient spending, the teachers that are moving up in the administration jobs are the more experienced teachers which now leaves the less experienced and underpaid teachers in the classes.  The ratio of administrative staff to teachers is not balanced. Reforms for the education system have been put into play to help with teacher salaries, quality of the teacher and textbook printing corruption. The reform of 2007, aimed to gain private tutoring to balance the overpopulated classes and inefficient teaching which in turn the poorer students dropped out of the classrooms.  Also the defying influence of Muslim Brotherhood within the schools which was said to be the biggest determinant of the planned reform along with many other non-educational considerations. The ending of the article goes on to explain that the schools of Egypt have too many teachers who are not qualified for their job and they spend too much money in unimportant areas.  

The article strikes some interesting points when it comes to the education system of Egypt, what is sad is that they have the money to better the system but they are using it the wrong way. This broken system of education is creating social problems because for one the use of private tutors are driving many poor people out of the system which means that leaves many individuals uneducated, this drives literacy rates down causing many to not be eligible for higher-paying jobs. It’s the teachers who need to be better educated if the children aren’t understanding in the class rooms and must gain outside help from private tutors, which from the article it appears to be a majority. Also maybe the teachers need to be evaluated annually to see if they meet the requirements to teach. Another situation to address is overpopulation of classrooms, this could be solved by using the money to expand the school, in turn making smaller classrooms and a better learning environment for the students. The author does not actually believe we should cancel school, she just questions the fact on if it’s worth the money being spent and if they aren’t spending it efficiently and effectively

References: http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/09/16/education-a-waste-of-money/

 Name: Sarah Vestrat

Date: 9/19/13

Time: 11:27 AM