Final draft
Educational system in our country
The education system in Egypt is state-sponsored and set up in three stages: primary school (6 years), preparatory school (3 years), and secondary school (3 years). Basic education consists of the first two stages and is obligatory for all students in the country, although 16% of girls still do not enroll in primary school. There are, however, many co-educational private schools with fees affordable only for the middle and upper classes.
The Egyptian educational system is highly centralized, and is divided into basic education, which comprises primary stage and preparatory stage, secondary education and post-secondary education. The free compulsory education law applies only to the preparatory phase.
The education system in Egypt is not only the largest in the Middle East and North Africa region but also one of the largest in the world. The great majority of students in Egypt at the primary to tertiary levels are enrolled in public institutions. Girls' enrollment rates consistently lag behind those of boys, however.Public higher education is free in Egypt, and Egyptian students only pay registration fees. Private education is much more expensive.
Egyptian universities teach some subjects in Arabic and others in English. Humanities, education, law, economics and other such disciplines are usually taught in Arabic. Subjects in medicine, pharmacy, dental medicine and engineering are usually taught in English.Major universities include Cairo University, Alexandria University, and the 1,000-year-old Al-Azhar University, one of the world's major centers of Islamic learning. However, the general environment in the majority of universities does not foster research productivity or innovation by staff members.
The American university in cairo (AUC), one of the country’s most highly-regarded institutions, teaches all of its courses in English. For this reason, and its academic quality, it is generally the university of choice for foreign students studying abroad in Egypt.
The Ministry of Higher Education supervises the tertiary level of education. There are a number of universities catering to students in diverse fields. In the current education system, there are 17 public universities, 51 public non-university institutions, 16 private universities and 89 private higher institutions.
Public universities are under government administration. Public Higher education is free in Egypt, and Egyptian students only pay registration fees. International students pay full tuition with fees that reach up to $ 1,500 a year.
Finally Egypt's educational system both reflects and augments the socio-economic status of its own people. Historic conflicts between religious and secular leaders, between tradition and innovation, and between foreign and national interests all influence contemporary Egyptian education. Education in Egypt has political, social, and economic objectives, namely: education for strengthening democracy and comprehensive development as a continuous process, within the framework of Arab culture.