CAIRO: Participants at the Egyptian Education and Training for the Global Economy symposium held in Cairo on Wednesday agreed that there is an urgent need for change in Egypt’s education sector.
The symposium, part of Amideast’s 50-year anniversary in Egypt celebrations, examined the role of foreign universities, information technology and exchange and job creation opportunities.
Minister of Higher Education Hani Helal admitted that there were fundamental flaws in the system, including weak soft skills, which he says the government is currently working to improve.
He said Egypt needs a revolution to transform it from a resource-based to a knowledge-based economy.
Helal pointed to the weakness of science and technology cadres, saying that of the 98,000 PhD holders, 70,000 taught at universities, 15,000 worked in research centers and just 13,000 were employed in industry and development.
He suggested that the imbalance should be redressed to have most experts in industry and development.
Helal also touched on the fact that businesses are constantly complaining that the quality of graduates falls short of industry standards and needs.
Keynote speaker US Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Dina Habib Powell focused on the benefits of cultural and educational exchange to Egypt’s education sector.
She insisted that despite Arab hesitation and fears of discrimination, visas were being facilitated and the welcome mat is out for foreign students, especially Egyptians.
The Egyptian-born Powell also announced 1,000 new American government scholarships for Egyptians to attend community technical or vocational colleges in the US.
Graduates of these scholarships would then be able to enter directly into the Egyptian workforce upon their return.
American University of Cairo President David Arnold added that diverse settings and foreign experience was beneficial for cross-cultural aspects, where students then become interlocutors between societies, preparing them for a global, digital age.
But preparing Arab minds for the jump into the digital age is a big challenge.
World Bank Advisor Ahmed Galal believes the problem for Middle East educators is not with funding, praising MENA investments into education. The returns, however, have been low in terms of economic growth, income distribution, and poverty reduction, with little or no correlation to the funding invested.
Evoking an Indian proverb that says it is hard not to bark up the wrong tree when you think there s only one, Galal offered a solution by providing other trees.
He suggested a need to improve the quality of education not just by focusing on the engineering of education, but by adding incentives (for schools, teachers, etc.), public accountability and voice.
He said incentives were necessary to veer teachers away from private tutoring and to add creativity and critical thinking to the agenda.
Dr Dell Felder, former Provost and vice president of the all-female Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates, agreed that Arab students generally lacked creativity and critical thinking skills, as well reasoning, and a strong work ethic, due to education systems which prioritize knowledge acquisition over developing minds that can think and learn on their own.
She recounts how her students at first didn t ask questions and were reluctant to share their views.
She added that it was not an option to rely on the old system if the goal is to graduate new business leaders who can deal with rapid change and think out of the box.
Amideast’s projects in 12 countries in the region, including the West Bank/Gaza, also comprise language and professional skills training, testing services, institutional development, and religious exchanges.
Seventy-five percent of the proceeds from the anniversary events will go towards a new Scholarship Search Fund, named after late Senior Vice President Diana Kamal, to help Arab students find appropriate offers at US universities.
Last year, Amideast helped nearly 2,000 students find scholarships.
