For the other half of the student population that get...

For the other half of the student population that get tracked into technical secondary education, about 1 percent get admitted to a university while the rest usually enter a trade or end up unemployed (Leavitt, 1992, pgs. 96-97). There is also the parallel Islamic educational system of Al-Azhar, which is administered by the sub ministry Al-Awqaaf, and was established 975 CE.

Al-Azhar has a four year primary stage, a three year preparatory stage, a four year secondary stage, and higher education (Leavitt, 1992, p. 97). Both the main educational system and the parallel Al-Azhar system have public, private, and semi-private branches with the main difference between these being that the size of the classroom decreases and use of international languages such as English (for instruction) increases as one moves down the spectrum from public to private.

Correspondingly, under both ministries public schools are free, semi-private at varying costs, and private rarely within reach except for the elite class-of course aside from tuition, there are numerous indirect expenses like transportation, uniforms, books, and other materials.

The demanding nature of the national exam at the end of secondary school combined with the poor quality of curriculum/ instruction cause millions of dollars to be wasted each year on private tutoring and bribes to get around the educational system. Ethnographic research from the Culture and Education in Egypt Working Group (CEEWG) of the Middle East Awards Program explicated how private lessons have become a market themselves due to the tremendous failure of the educational system.

Linda Herrera’s work with teachers allowed for discussions that highlighted the importance of improving the regular learning experience so students would not have to purchase their education on their own--which of course condemns most of the poverty-stricken of Egypt.

However, these conversations also highlighted the need to motivate teachers to put forth more effort and enthusiasm in their teaching (despite the institutional obstacles) and acknowledge their social responsibility towards their students (Herrera and Torres, 2006, pgs.100-118). In regard to teaching methods and content, Egyptian education has been reduced to rote memorization of dated textbooks.

Students, from basic through secondary education, are lambasted with facts and figures with no guidance on how to practically apply such knowledge or its relevance (Herrera, 2006, p. 9).