CAIRO, Dec 6 (MENA) – President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi gave directives to continue all necessary efforts and adopt appropriate measures to support teachers and provide them with ongoing incentives, including improving their economic conditions.
He also asserted the need to uphold discipline and instill ethical and positive values within the educational system, stressing that any violations or misconduct must be met with swift and decisive accountability.
This came during Sisi’s meeting on Saturday with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Education and Technical Education Mohamed Abdel Latif.
Presidential Spokesman Mohamed al-Shennawy said that the meeting reviewed several key files of the ministry’s work.
Abdel Latif presented the progress of introducing programming and artificial intelligence as part of the curriculum for first-year secondary students starting in the 2025/2026 academic year, the spokesman said.
He noted that the inclusion of this subject aligns with Egypt’s vision for digital transformation and education development and responds to the demands of the technological revolution and the evolving labor market, the spokesman added.
He added that student engagement on the Japanese “Kiryu” programming and AI platform exceeded all expectations, with more than 236,000 students completing the full training content.
He explained that secondary school graduates studying the subject will receive an internationally accredited programming certificate from Hiroshima University in Japan.
He also announced that programming and AI will be introduced into technical education starting in the 2026/2027 academic year.
Shennawy added that the meeting also reviewed the ministry’s efforts to develop the technical education system by expanding applied technology schools, which have reached 115 schools in the 2025/2026 academic year.
These schools link theoretical study with practical training through partnerships with the private sector, in addition to signing international partnerships to provide graduates with accredited certificates that enhance their employment opportunities locally and internationally, Shennawy said.
Sisi stressed the importance of exerting maximum effort to raise the academic and professional standards of technical education graduates in line with the growing needs of the labor market, the spokesman said.
The meeting further addressed updates on Japanese schools in Egypt and Sisi directed that their number be increased to 500 schools within the next five years, Shennawy said.
The minister also presented the results of his field visits to follow up on the educational process across governorates, highlighting the ministry’s success in resolving longstanding challenges such as eliminating teacher shortages in core subjects, reducing classroom density to fewer than 50 students and ensuring timely distribution of school textbooks, he added.
The minister also reviewed the progress of the Egyptian Baccalaureate system, highlighting the multiple pathways and flexible examination formats it offers to suit diverse student interests and abilities, Shennawy said.
He noted that this system ends the single-opportunity exam model of the traditional General Secondary system. The number of students enrolling in the Baccalaureate has risen significantly, exceeding 90 percent of total first-year secondary students in the current academic year, the spokesman said. (MENA)
