Dr. Arabi Abu Zeid, Director of the Education Directorate in Alexandria Governorate, said that the support of the political leadership in recent years, under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, for the educational process is unlimited and unprecedented, in order to develop education through carefully and carefully studied plans.
Abu Zeid added that the new high school system is based on research, investigation and deep good thinking, adding that the teacher in the new educational system has not become the only source of information, as the information has become available to everyone through platforms and websites.
Abu Zeid added that the development of technical education was a priority for the Ministry, and Alexandria Governorate in particular is one of the largest governorates that have been expanded in opening specialized technical schools to graduate skilled technicians who can keep pace with the labor market, and students and parents have already begun to turn more towards technical education now, and this will reduce the load. On the secondary school system, indicating that the Directorate is working hard to link technical schools to the labor market, through practical training in factories and companies, as there is a kind of real transformation in technical education.
Regarding the preparations for the new academic year, Abu Zeid explained that there are various preparations to welcome the new academic year in terms of distributing teachers and linking schools, and in terms of accommodating a larger percentage of new students in the early educational stages, as 93% of students applying for kindergarten were accepted this year. .
Abu Zeid said that there are new constructions and expansions that enter service for the first time, with 171 classrooms, and maintenance work has been completed for 28 comprehensive and urgent maintenance schools.
He explained that the attendance rate was good last academic year, and there will be a kind of serious and diligent follow-up to the attendance and absence of students in the new academic year, and there is an interest from the Ministry to implement and practice the activities offered in schools; This will have a great impact on students’ commitment to attend schools this year.
Transfer electronically, giving equal opportunities to parents
When asked about transfer between schools, which is witnessing momentum before the start of each academic year, he replied: “We are in the era of digital transformation and electronic communication, and the issue of transfers within schools will have a share in that development, and specialized committees have been formed in schools and educational institutions so that no one is alone with the issue of transfers.” And that the transfer be done electronically, giving equal opportunities to parents to transfer their children, and from next year the full electronic transfer system will be implemented, and there will be strict control over the transfer process, and there will be deterrent penalties for those who try to manipulate and cheat in the transfer process.
Regarding the private lessons crisis that plagues the Egyptian home and constitutes an additional burden on the head of the family, Abu Zaid emphasized that private lessons are a culture of society, and the solution to this crisis lies in the integration of efforts, whether by the ministry, the community, the media, and all parties responsible for the subject. Therefore, the ministry began launching groups School support, which does not aim to make profits, but to provide a safe, healthy and educational environment and to return students once again to their association with the school. This idea in Alexandria achieved impressive success, as nearly 76,000 male and female students participated in it in the second semester.
He pointed out that the Directorate is currently working hard, and we have held many meetings and communicated with various parties to activate support groups more, starting from the new academic year, through a safe environment for students and teachers to increase student absorption.
When asked about the Directorate’s plans to increase the number of distinguished experimental schools to accommodate the largest number of students, Abu Zeid said that Alexandria has three distinct language schools: “Mohammed Zahran – Mustafa Al-Najjar – Ard Roland”, and there is a plan to expand the experimental schools to serve different places, and there are new schools being built. They are currently being built, and they will be used as distinct language schools, stressing that private schools are no less important than public schools, as they provide distinguished educational services to a wide segment of citizens, and there is real control from the Directorate over those schools.
Regarding overcoming the problem of teacher shortages in some areas in Alexandria, the Director of Alexandria Education pointed out that the Directorate provided teachers, either through the quota, or through the students of the College of Education in their practical training, in addition to President Sisi’s decision to appoint 150,000 teachers over 5 years, all of these steps. It will certainly contribute to a radical solution to the problem.
On supporting decentralization in educational departments in the governorate, Abu Zaid highlighted that Dr. Reda Hijazi, Minister of Education, directed support for decentralization within all departments, to support the capabilities of educational leaders, explaining that middle or senior leaders must have the capabilities or general vision to solve problems, communicate and respond. With parents and citizens and solve their problems urgently.
The director of the Directorate of Education in Alexandria pointed out that he directed all leaders within each educational department in the governorate to take the appropriate decision in light of their specializations, so that each leadership is able to take the decision and bear its results and study the decision, and the consequent positives and negatives.