Education

The public education system consists of three stages: the basic education stage for 4- to 14-year-olds (kindergarten for two years followed by primary school for five years and preparatory school for three years); the secondary school stage for three years, generally for ages 14 to 17; and the tertiary (university) stage. Education is compulsory for 8 years between the ages of 6 and 14. All levels of education are tuition-free at all government schools and institutions. In 1993, more than 13.8 million people were enrolled in state education at all levels. In five years, that figure grew by 5 million. Ninety-one percent of all school-age children were enrolled in school in 1991. When this figure is adjusted for school dropouts and students repeating grades, the enrollment figures drop to 84 percent. (Unofficial estimates place this figure at 70 percent). In 1996, the total official enrollment in primary, preparatory, and secondary schools topped 14 million, the equivalent of 88 percent of the school-age population (boys, 94 percent; girls, 82 percent). In 1998-1999, some 17 million students were enrolled.

A Few Facts About Their Education

• Egypt has the largest education system in Africa
• Roughly 45 percent of the Egyptian population lives in poverty and on an income of less than $2 a day. Due to this fiscal poverty, proper education gets put on the back burner for many families.
• There are 12.2 million elementary students, 8.9 million secondary students and 2.8 million tertiary students.
• The school year in Egypt starts on the first week of September and ends on the third week of June.
• Many girls drop out of school at the end of their basic compulsory program either to work or to marry.
• In primary education homework or outside duties are strongly discouraged.

Careers

Agriculture remains an important sector of the Egyptian economy. It contributes nearly one-eighth of the GDP, employs roughly one-fourth of the labor force, and provides the country—through agricultural exports—with an important part of its foreign exchange. The rapid increase in Egypt’s population prompted an intensification of cultivation almost without parallel elsewhere. Heavy capital is invested in the form of canals, drains, dams, water pumps, and barrages; the investment of skilled labor, commercial fertilizers, and pesticides are also great. Strict crop rotation—in addition to government controls on the allocation of area to crops, on varieties planted, on the distribution of fertilizers and pesticides, and marketing—contributes to high agricultural yield.

Created by: Jenna Orlando, Pryor Middle School