About 24.6 per cent of Egypt’s population cannot read or write, according to a report by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) in July 2019.
In most cases, this is because many missed out on the opportunity to go to school as earning a living at a young age took priority over book learning.
Bear in mind the presence of dyslexia, which is now better understood than two or three generations ago. Of course, any children and adults with special educational needs are grappling with mental and physical disabilities.
The ministries of social solidarity, religious endowments and youth have been working hard to eradicate illiteracy in Egypt. Another organisation that is assisting in this task is the The General Authority for Adult Education (GAAE).
The GAAE is behind the recent launch of the ‘Learn To Be’ curriculum.
The GAAE teamed up with Rotary District 2451 Egypt to help people with learning difficulties acquire literacy skills,” GAAE chairman Ashour Amri told the local press.
The GAAE pays special attention to learners with disabilities. The authority also co-operates with the Armed Forces, universities, mosques, women clubs and health clubs nationwide in the campaign to improve education prospects for those who for whatever reason grapple with reading and writing skills.
“The authority sends regular information convoys to promote literacy programmes and raise awareness in every home, neighbourhood, village, town and district,” Amri said.
Dr Ehab Eid, head of paediatrics at Ain Shams University, told this newspaper that the government has in recent years made tireless efforts to improve education, which is as the cornerstone to sustainable development.
“The Ministry of Education has updated syllabuses and teacher training, while framing special needs courses, such as sign language,” Eid said. Much has been written about special needs education, and experts agree that the first step is to engage learners, Eid said.
“That means textbooks and methodologies should be suited to each student’s needs,” Eid said.
Eman Ghamrawi, chairman of Rotary Egypt’s Professional Service Committee said ‘Learn to Be’ is inspired by the Inter-American Committee on Education (CIE) Literacy Programme, which was launched in Australia in 1970 and used by Rotary.
Meanwhile, the ministry of education has established a rehabilitation centre for people with disabilities, and is considered one of the largest of its kind in the Middle East, with services for children with cognitive and sensory disabilities such as autism and attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD).
How does this translate in terms of realities on the ground? Most special needs classes are small — no more than 15 individuals. The teacher may find herself with four classes in the same room. Three high-functioning autistic students may have excellent reading skills, but find manipulating and processing the meaning of texts challenging. Four dyslexics of varying degrees of severity need constant attention with letter recognition and formation. Children with ADHD are probably the most demanding and by large are fun to teach, but as their thinking is all-over-the-place, so is their leaning. The three, who in the old days, might have been written off as ‘slow’ or ‘backward’, need much encouragement and reinforcement.
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