Chairperson of the Commercial International Bank (CIB) – Egypt, and President of the Federation of Egyptian Banks (FEB) Hisham Ezz Al-Arab has said that the FEB prioritises investment in human resource, as an essential component for growth and development, and is one of the most important elements for achieving sustainable development.
Ezz Al-Arab added that the Board of Directors of the FEB decided to allocate 25% from the slums’ development project to the education sector to support the state’s efforts to boost human capital. The project is entirely funded by the contribution of all banks operating in the Egyptian market.
He pointed out that the FEB allocated about EGP 100m from Egyptian bank contributions for the establishment of the country’s first sustainable school, named ”Hawiytona” (Our Identity), with the aim of establishing an integrated model for education in Egypt.
According to Ezz Al-Arab, banks contributed EGP 400m to the development of about 20 slums in Cairo and Giza.
The FEB held a press conference on Thursday to announce the signing of a protocol to establish “Our Identity School,” which is the first sustainable public school, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the Cairo Governorate, and the Educational Buildings Authority.
Ezz Al-Arab praised the role of FEB’s Sustainable Development Committee, who made voluntary efforts to render the initiative successful.
He also expressed his pride and happiness in signing this agreement, stressing that it embodied FEB’s keenness to advance the education system, through the development of schools.
“The establishment of Hawiytona School aims to build the Egyptian identity and the principles of sustainable development, which are essential elements for creating a new generation able to compete and keep pace with the requirements of the modern era, to be eligible to implement the country’s sustainable development strategy 2030,” he said, adding that FEB plans to support the Egyptian children, by providing them with the opportunity to obtain a high-quality education regardless of their economic and social level.
For her part, Dalia Abdel Kader, head of the sustainable development committee at the FEB, said that Our Identity is not only a new school, but rather a vision and concept for Egyptian schools, embodying the interactive relationship between education, identity, and sustainable development, as they constitute three vital points of Egyptian growth, development, and national security.
She added that the federation was not only financing the establishment of that school, but also providing an integrated system, which includes the vision of Egyptian schools, institutional identity, and an integrated design. The federation also plans to manage the school’s administration so to achieve the goals of Egyptian education, in coordination with the Ministry of Education.
Minister of Education Tarek Shawki praised the role of the FEB in supporting the education system in Egypt, through building and developing schools.
He said that the Our Identity School reflects maturity between the ministry and civil society, as it is an integrated system that maintains the quality of education for the children of Egypt, and supports the ministry’s vision to develop the education system. The goal is to focus on identity and sustainable development in order to prepare coming generations for global developments, capable of contributing to Egypt’s 2030 strategy.
Shawki stressed the importance of the FEB and the Ministry of Education’s partnership as a model for future partnerships between public and private sectors.
Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel Aal said that the FEB its plans to develop infrastructure to include the education sector. He noted that this has already made an impact on the development of informal areas in Helwan by setting aside 5 feddan of land for the Our Identity School.
He pointed out that this is the first time for the banking sector and the FEB to be involved in the development of the Egyptian education sector.
The FEB announced that is has allocated more than EGP 450 over the past four years, where all banks operating in the Egyptian banking market contributed to the development of slums in the Cairo and Giza governorates.
