The People’s Assembly’s Information and Tourism Committee is seeking to review history books to correct what it described as “falsehoods” concerning the reign of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
The proposal includes a request for the Ministry of Culture to document the uprising that unseated Mubarak, including biographies of those killed.
Following the uprising, many opponents of Mubarak’s reign demanded the removal of texts that include the biography and achievements of the former president from children’s school books. Others objected to these demands, saying the Mubarak era is a part of the country’s history that cannot be deleted, regardless of the crimes he committed during his reign.
Following numerous complaints by parents of school children, Education Minister Gamal al-Araby announced in February that Mubarak-related texts would continue to be included in primary school curricula unless a court ruling ordered their removal.
Egyptian school curricula tended to glorify the former president and his achievements in a manner many consider biased and devoid of the negative aspects of his reign.
Mubarak is currently on trial on charges of ordering the killing of protesters during the January uprising, in addition to a number of other charges related to corruption and exploiting his position.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
