School in Egypt. Picture by Karen Green / Flickr.com (CC BY-SA 2.0)In April 2018, the World Bank agreed to grant Egypt a loan worth 500 million USD, earmarked for education reform. This was followed by a publicity blitz by the Egyptian minister of education, Tarek Shawky, where he highlighted the primary features of this reform, which would involve a complete overhaul of the educational system.
On paper, these reforms are close to a middle class, liberal fantasy. For example, the focus on memorization, which has plagued the school system, is to be replaced with a focus on research, as well as, creative and critical thinking. It will also involve the use of computer tablets, replacing the printed book, as well as, a complete overhaul of the grading system. The minister also highlighted the fact that the President himself is supervising this project, and is prioritizing it.
The announcement was greeted warmly by many of my middle class friends and acquaintances, who viewed this development as a positive step towards creating a politically aware citizenry that is able to participate effectively in the political process. This was, usually, followed by a response that emphasized the importance of education as a solution to Egypt’s problems, explicitly condemning the poor, which is the vast majority of the Egyptians, as both, ignorant and in need of civilizing.
