AME EDUCATION
SECTOR PROFILE
EGYPT
EGYPT
Education Structure
Public and private schools offer a secular curriculum. The Al-Azhar
schools, a quasi-governmental system, offer a religious curriculum.
Source: World Bank
2005
EGYPT
Education Structure
The public system serves about 85% of all Egyptian students,
primary to tertiary, and is free at all levels.
Education Configuration and Enrollment Percentages
Classification
Pre-primary
Pre-university
Tertiary
Level/Grade
% Net Enrollments
Ages
2004
2007
Pre-school
4-5
16%*
17%*
Primary, grades 1-6
6-11
98%
96%
Lower Secondary, grades 7-9
12-14
82%
N/A
Upper secondary, grades 10-12
15-17
29%
N/A
Vocational secondary, grades
10-12
15-17
37%
N/A
Undergraduate study
18-22
33%*
N/A
Post graduate study
22+
*Gross Enrollment Rate
Source: World Bank 2005, World Development Indicators 2009
EGYPT
Population Structure
• 63% of Egypt’s population is below the age of 30.
• By 2015, the 30-64 year group will be 37%. Young people need
good education opportunities now to become effective workers later.
65+ years
4%
30-64 years
33%
0-14 years
34%
15-29 years
29%
Egypt’s Population Structure
Source: Assaad and Barsoum 2007, EPDC 2009
EGYPT
Education Policy
Relevant Policies:
• National Plan for Education for All 2003-2015
http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/format_liste_en.php?Chp2=Egypt
• National Strategic Plan for Pre-University
Education Reform in Egypt 2007-2012
http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/format_liste_en.php?Chp2=Egypt
• Higher Education Reform Strategy 2009
http://www.heep.edu.eg/pmu-report.htm
EGYPT
Education Access: Pre-university
• Primary level is almost full.
• Lower secondary level grew at the fastest rate from 1996-2004
(4.15% average change).
Net Enrollments Pre-university Education
100.0%
1996
Enrollment (%)
80.0%
2004
• Initial
primary
data Is from
1990.
60.0%
40.0%
20.0%
0.0%
Pre-primary
Source: World Bank 2005
Primary
Low Secondary Voc Secondary Gen Secondary
EGYPT
Education Access: Tertiary
• Egypt has invested heavily in higher education.
• University enrollment increased more than 11% from 1996-2004
University Enrollments
1,600,000
Number of Students
1,400,000
1,200,000
1996
1,000,000
2004
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
Post Graduate Undergraduate Total University
Source: World Bank 2005
EGYPT
Education Access: Gender
• Girls have nearly reached the same enrollment rates as boys.
• Egypt has been very successful in attaining gender parity at this level.
Net Primary Enrollments by Gender
Percentage Enrollments
100
95
90
85
80
75
Boys
70
Girls
65
60
1991
Source: World Bank EdStats
2000
2002
2004
2007
EGYPT
Education Access: Gender
Percentage Enrollments
• Gender parity has been reached at the secondary levels.
• Girls represent 48% of total student numbers at the pre-university level.
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
Secondary Net Enrollments by Gender
1996
Source: World Bank 2005
1998
2000
2002
Lower Secondary Boys
Lower Secondary Girls
Upper Secondary Boys
Upper Secondary Girls
2004
EGYPT
Education Quality: Teachers
A new teacher professional development and promotion system was
adopted in 2007.
Source: CIDA 2009
EGYPT
Education Quality: Class Density
Class Sizes of 40 or More Students in Public Primary Education,
Selected Rural Governorates/Metropolitan Areas 2003/04
Fayoum
Qena
Minya
Cairo
61-90
Giza
51-60
Alexandria
41-50
Beheira
Assuit
0
Source: World Bank 2005
200
400
600
800
1000
EGYPT
Education Quality: Testing
• Egypt ranked 37th out of 45 participating countries on an international
achievement test in math and science.
• Egyptian students scored lower in the 2007 test with an average math
score of 396 (406 in 2003) and science score of 408 (421 in 2003).
50%
Grade 8 Student Performance TIMSS 2003
40%
Science
30%
Math
20%
10%
0%
Below low
(<400)
Low (400)
Intermed-iate
(475)
High (550)
Advanced
(625)
Scoring Benchmarks
Source: Ministry of Education 2006, World Bank 2007
EGYPT
Education Equity: Gender/ Geographic Disparities
Gender and geographic disparities in lower secondary enrollment are
evident at the governorate level.
% Lower Secondary Net Enrollments by Sex and Selected Governorates 2003/04
Metropolitan
Boys
Girls
Gap
Alexandra
112.5
110.5
2
Cairo
112.7
113.6
-0.9
Dakahia
89.2
93.1
-3.9
Sharkia
84.9
90.2
-5.3
Beni Suef
91.2
83.1
8.1
Fayoum
86.3
79.6
6.7
Minya
95.8
85.0
10.8
Assiut
86.5
81.2
5.3
Suhag
73.5
73.8
-0.3
Lower Egypt
Upper Egypt
Source: World Bank 2005
EGYPT
Education Equity: Income Disparities
Gender, wealth and geographic disparities in school attendance remain,
especially at the secondary and tertiary levels.
Net Enrollment Rates by Income Quintile and Level 2004/05
120
100
Percentage
85.45
97.63
95.65
93.9
90.76
80
67.82
73.07
60.77
60
43.97
51.09
46.95
40
28.56
19.52
20
12.93
9.67
0
Poorest
2
Grade 1-9
Source: World Bank 2007
3
Income Quintiles
Secondary
4
University
Richest
EGYPT
Education Equity: Academic Disparities
• A two-track system at secondary level (grades 10-12) streams
about 60% of students into Vocational Education.
• Tracking is based on 6th and 9th grade test exams scores.
Percentage Enrollments at Secondary Education
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
General
Secondary
30.5%
32.3%
33.6%
33.2%
34.3%
Vocational
Secondary
69.5%
67.7%
66.4%
66.8%
65.7%
Total
Students
1,419,861
Source: World Bank 2005
1,447,030 1,551,518 1,724,454 1,804,835
EGYPT
Education Efficiency: Expenditure
Public spending on education is high by regional and international
standards.
Public Spending on Education in MENA as Percentage
(Most Recent Year During 1999-2003)
Share of GDP
OECD
5
1
MENA
11.5
2.3
28
12.5
Yemen
6.2
Jordan
6.5
Source: World Bank 2007
17.5
6.2
Morocco
Egypt
18
5.2
West Bank/Gaza
Lebanon
Share of Publc Spending
6
16.8
13.5
18
EGYPT
Education Efficiency: Expenditure
Tertiary level absorbs 28% of the budget to service 2 million students
while pre-university levels receive 70% to support 16 million students.
2%
28%
30%
17%
Pre-school
Gen. Secondary
12%
11%
Primary
Voc. Secondary
Lower Secondary
Tertiary
Egypt Public Education Expenditure Pattern 2002
Source: World Bank 2005
EGYPT
Education Efficiency: Repetition
• Repetition rates have seen a steady reduction, particularly impressive
at the general secondary level.
• Repetition at preparatory level remains an issue (average 8%) as it
does in Grade 4 and 5 primary levels (both grades average 5.6%).
Pre-university Repetition Rates
Percetage Repetition
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1996
Primary
Source: World Bank 2005
1998
2000
Lower Secondary
2002
Total Secondary
2004
EGYPT
Education Efficiency: Repetition
Egypt is not as efficient in reducing repetition as other countries
which spend similar amounts of public money on education.
Public Spending on Education and Primary Repetition Rates 2003/04
12
% GDP
Repetition
Percentage
10
8
6
4
2
0
Egypt
Source: World Bank 2008
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Yemen
MENA
OECD
EGYPT
Education Efficiency: Staff Ratios
The teaching to non-teaching/administrator staff ratio at preuniversity levels is about 1:.8, representing an highly inefficient
use of public funds.
Education Workforce:
1.4 million personnel in the system (2005)
Teaching
795,000 (57%)
Non-teaching
89,000 (6%)
Administrators
516,000 (37%)
Source: World Bank 2007
EGYPT
Education Efficiency: Staff Ratios
The growth of teaching (2%) and non-teaching staff (3.6%) is outpacing
the growth of the relevant student populations (1%) at all school levels.
% Change in Student Enrollment, Teaching and Non90
teaching/administrative Staff, 1995/96 to 2003/04
80
Students
Teaching Staff
Non-teaching staff
Percentage Change
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
-10
Primary
Source: World Bank 2007
Lower Secondary
Combined Grades
1-9
Upper Secondary
EGYPT
Education Efficiency: Private Tutoring
A rampant private tutoring system exists.
• Theoretically illegal and unacknowledged by the
•
•
•
government but a booming business given the low
salaries of teachers, high class densities and poor
teaching quality, and competitiveness of national
exams.
Private tutoring expenditure in the aggregate: about
4% of GDP, almost equal to government expenditure
on education (about 6%).
40% of students, 60% at secondary level, receive
private tutoring (est.).
The richest quintile spends 10 times more than the
poorest quintile giving them a greater advantage in
accessing more desirable education options.
Source: World Bank 2007, Assaad and Barsoum 2007, Personal email communication 2009.
EGYPT
Education: Conclusion
Successes:
• Access: Near universal primary enrollment.
• Quality: Existence of a teacher professional development system.
• Equity: Approaching gender equality system-wide.
• Efficiency: High levels of public expenditure on education.
Challenges:
• Access: Geographic and wealth disparities in school enrollment especially at
upper education levels.
• Quality: High repetition rates at specific grades and level.
• Equity: Inequitable academic division of students at secondary education.
Inequitable spending patterns on education levels.
• Efficiency: Highly uneven staff ratios. Existence of a rampant private tutoring
system.