Egypt applies the “baccalaureate” system for the first time this year, optionally, to secondary school students, and it includes the second and third grades, after the “general secondary” system included the third grade of secondary school only. The system includes four tracks for the student to choose one of, which are: medicine and life sciences, engineering and computer sciences, business, and literature and arts. The Minister of Education, Mohamed Abdel Latif, confirmed during a press conference on Monday evening that the “baccalaureate” system aims to move to a system based on continuous monitoring of the student’s performance and achievement within the school, which allows monitoring his academic progress in a more comprehensive way. He added that this new system aims to bring secondary school students back to school on a regular basis for the first time in about a decade, and to restore respect to the role of the school, as well as ensuring that students receive new curricula - such as programming and business administration - at the hands of specialized teachers, away from unlicensed centers. During his meeting with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, on Tuesday, the Minister of Education spoke about the mechanisms for implementing the “baccalaureate” system, which obliges the student to perform a set of weekly and monthly performances and assessments, tasks, duties and projects related to the curriculum as a condition for entering the first examination opportunity in the end-of-year exams, provided that the student’s achievement percentage is not less than 60 percent of the total required performances and assessments in each subject. He stressed that this new system aims to move to a system based on continuous monitoring of the student’s performance and achievement within the school, which allows monitoring his academic progress in a more comprehensive manner, indicating that “the implementation of the evaluation system is subject to clear mechanisms for follow-up within the school, through the teacher, the school principal, and the guidance, with evidence proving the student’s performance of the evaluations and tasks required of him, in a way that ensures transparency and discipline in implementing the system.” Marwa Ashraf, a government employee in the city of Quesna in the Menoufia Governorate in the Nile Delta, who has twins who are taking their first steps with the baccalaureate system, was surprised by the new decisions. She told Asharq Al-Awsat: “We were encouraged by the baccalaureate system, with what it allows for studying a small number of subjects, and the opportunity for students to choose what they want, but these new controls confused us, as they require students to attend school continuously, even though it is common knowledge that certificate students do not attend schools regularly in order to benefit from the number of hours they attend studying at home.” She wondered: “With these new conditions, will they have time left to study?” Who can guarantee that it will not be a threatening tool in the hands of the classroom teacher? Professor of Educational Psychology, Tamer Shawqi, added: “Evaluations are not “yearly work,” but they give the student an opportunity to learn about his level first-hand without the pressure of final grades, which enhances his benefit from the educational process.” Educational expert Dalia Al-Hazzawi believes that presenting the details of the “baccalaureate” system came relatively late, and it would have been better to make them available early, so that students, parents, and teachers would have enough time to understand the system. She said: “There are a number of fears among parents, foremost of which is the requirement for the student to complete 60 percent of the evaluation system. She stresses that the implementation of this system “needs real oversight and a clear grievance mechanism that preserves the student’s right, so that he does not feel that his future has become linked to the individual assessment of the teacher.” She added: “Implementing these decisions must be a real step towards developing education, and not just adding new burdens to the student and family.” The Nuclear Power Plants Authority in Egypt confirmed in a statement, on Monday evening, that the implementation of the Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant project is being carried out in accordance with the highest internationally applicable nuclear safety and security standards, and that all construction, engineering and installation works are carried out in accordance with international quality standards, and are subject to continuous inspections and examinations by the Authority’s follow-up and supervision teams to verify their full compliance with the approved requirements. Egypt condemned the Israeli air strikes that targeted the Abu Al-Duhur military airport in the Syrian governorate of Idlib, and considered that it “represents a blatant violation of Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, and a clear violation of the rules of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.” Egypt affirmed, in a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, its complete rejection of the continued Israeli violations of Syrian territory, and the dangerous escalation that these attacks represent, which would undermine efforts to support stability in Syria and the region, and threaten regional peace and security, at a time when there is an urgent need to give priority to political solutions, reduce tension, and provide favorable conditions for restoring security and stability in Syria and preserving the capabilities of the Syrian state.
