President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has stressed the importance of investing in human capital and enhancing the capabilities of teachers and educational leaders to provide high-quality education and improve learning outcomes.
Sisi made the remarks during a meeting on Sunday with Minister of Education and Technical Education Mohamed Abdel Latif and Major General Mohamed Salah El-Turki, Director of the Egyptian Military Academy.
The meeting reviewed joint efforts by relevant state institutions to strengthen mechanisms for selecting and preparing personnel working in Egyptian schools.
El-Turki presented the results of admission tests for the fifth phase of the Education Ministry’s teacher recruitment competition.
President Sisi stressed the need to develop advanced strategies and training programmes to prepare and qualify teachers and school leaders to the highest standards, ensuring a comprehensive and supportive learning environment for students.
He also directed that a monthly allowance be paid to teachers and school principals who have successfully completed training courses at the Egyptian Military Academy. The courses lasted between three and six months, with the payments to begin this month.
Discussions focused on ways to strengthen co-operation with leading international educational institutions and benefit from their expertise in preparing educational leaders. Such co-operation aims to improve institutional performance in schools and enhance the quality of education in line with international best practices.
Minister Abdel Latif said the Egyptian Military Academy had launched a specialised training programme in co-operation with Harvard University to prepare around 220 principals and school leaders from government schools across Egypt.
He also reviewed co-operation with Hiroshima University to train teachers to become leaders in educational development and help transfer Japanese educational expertise to Egyptian schools.
Sisi stressed the importance of strengthening teachers’ capabilities, describing them as the cornerstone of school development. He also underscored the need to develop systems-thinking skills among school leaders to enhance the efficiency of educational institutions.
During the meeting, Abdel Latif also briefed Sisi on his participation in the UNICEF Executive Board meeting in New York, where he presented Egypt’s experience in reforming and developing its education system.
The minister highlighted Egypt’s use of technology and artificial intelligence to move from limited-scale initiatives to comprehensive, system-wide education reforms.
These efforts include introducing programming and artificial intelligence as a subject for first-year secondary students, as well as teaching the subject to second-year students in the engineering and computer science track of the baccalaureate programme.
He also outlined Egypt’s efforts to reduce classroom overcrowding and address teacher shortages in core subjects. These measures have helped bring students back to schools and increase attendance rates to 87 per cent.
Abdel Latif further highlighted Egypt’s efforts to expand co-operation with international organisations and countries facing similar education challenges under the UN umbrella. The aim is to share Egypt’s experience in addressing such challenges without placing additional financial burdens on their national budgets.
The discussions concluded with President Sisi reaffirming the importance of providing high-quality education through sustained investment in human capital and strengthening the capabilities of educational leaders. Such efforts, he said, are essential to improving learning outcomes and preparing generations capable of competing and adapting to the demands of the future.
