The Education Ministry wastes LE2.1 billion annually on textbooks, an amount sufficient to build 400 schools, said Education Minister Ibrahim Ghoneim.
“We have a plan to improve the educational process, especially the printing of textbooks,” he said, adding that there would be new standards for textbooks and curricula for print shops to adhere to.
“We also aim to reduce density in classrooms over the coming three years to be a maximum of 30 students per classroom,” he said during a meeting with the leading ministry officials in Minya, a meeting also attended by Governor Mostafa Kamel Eissa.
The minister pointed to LE3.2 billion allocated to educational installations. “It was only LE700 million in the past,” he said, adding that schools would be provided with security and sanitation teams services. The ministry is seeking to reduce the cost of building schools to one-third of the cost.
There are no training centers for teachers anymore, Ghoneim said. Academic professional education would be responsible for the training.
The ministry seeks to provide schools with IT team to provide a vision for technological development within schools, and to ensure that the protection of devices, since LE 3 million worth of computers were stolen in a month.
With regard to technology in schools, Ghoneim said that a project providing students with iPads has been applied in 30 schools so far, adding that the ministry is seeking to expand the project around the country.
Edited translation from MENA
