Egypt Education Minister, Tarek Shawky, criticised the circulation of photos featuring heavily-crowded classes of public schools on social media, claiming that ending the crisis needs EGP 100bn.
“There are some people who want to upset Egyptians by replacing photos of successful Japanese schools with others (false) from Iraq,” Shawky stated during a press conference on Saturday.
Shawky added, “we did not say our schools will become like others in Switzerland. We announced that there will be changes in the curriculum and never addressed the intensity in classes as it will last for the coming 10 years.”
In order to end the intensity crisis in public schools, the ministry needs to establish 22,000 classes with the cost of EGP 100bn, Shawky highlighted.
He also urged Egyptians to avoid publishing similar photos and to “focus on the advantages,” noting that around 5 million parents are satisfied with the new educational system, which applies to kindergartens up to the first primary stages.
Furthermore, he said that President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi will attend the launch of the first Arab forum of special schools, serving students with special needs, including the participation of several Arab countries, such as Kuwait and Bahrain.
During the first day of the new school year, several unpleasant events occurred, including the death of a 9-year- old student, after he was crushed to death by a stampede of Al-Zahra Primary School students who were trying to book the first bench in Belqas, Dakahlia governorate.
Other events of stampedes and clashes between parents took place in a number of schools across the country over first benches, which led to injuring among some of them.
On social media platforms, some photos featuring mothers breaking into schools and climbing wooden ladders to enter into classes faster were circulated by users during the last few days who denounced the ministry’s new measures to improve the educational system, which they said resulted in naught.
