Baccalaureate debate

Ahmed Al-Deeb , Wednesday 15 Jan 2025

The proposed Baccalaureate Certificate as an alternative to the Thanawiya Amma system has stirred controversy, with education experts calling for a thorough revision before its application

Baccalaureate debate

 

Debate is rife in Egypt’s educational circles and on social media after the Ministry of Education and Technical Education announced a suggestion replacing the Thanawiya Amma (12th grade high school) with the Baccalaureate Certificate starting the next academic year. Supporters of the change believe the move is necessary to revamp the education system while others voiced their concern about some of its implementation.

The new system is meant to develop intellectual skills instead of rote memorisation, said Mohamed Abdel-Latif, the minister of education, during a cabinet meeting.

The preparatory stage, or first secondary year, will include the core subjects of the Arabic language, mathematics and integrated sciences, in addition to subjects excluded from the total grade, such as programming and a second foreign language.

The main stage, second and third secondary year, is divided into four focus areas: medicine, engineering, business, and arts. Each focus area introduces advanced subjects.

Unlike the current system, there are several opportunities for students to take their exams. Attempts to improve their score are offered for a fee of LE500. The final score is sent to the Coordination Office, responsible for sending students to universities based on their score along with all their previous attempts.

Students must attend the exams on their due date on their first attempt but can retake the exams in the year of their choice, Abdel-Latif added.

During the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli gave his initial approval to the new system, instructing the discussion of its implementation with the Ministerial Group for Human Development before putting the final format up for a societal dialogue.

Introducing the Baccalaureate Certificate as an alternative to the Thanawiya Amma has stirred considerable debate given that the current system was amended less than a year ago. Changes to the Thanawiya Amma were introduced by the last three education ministers.

Another point of contention was the addition of religious education to the final score, which was not the case in previous years.  

An official at the Ministry of Higher Education revealed that the Baccalaureate system was not discussed at the Supreme Council of Universities. If the Baccalaureate Certificate is approved, the coordination system will be reconsidered, the source noted.

“The idea behind the new system is commendable, the focus being on developing critical thinking instead of memorisation. After all, this is in line with the development of education the world over. However, implementation needs to be carefully revised to ensure optimal application,” said Gihan Al-Bayoumi, a member of parliament’s Education Committee.

Al-Bayoumi stressed the importance of discussing the details of the baccalaureate between the minister of education and the relevant parliamentary committee before initiating a broad societal dialogue to achieve the best results.

Mohamed Al-Gizawi, a professor of philosophy at Cairo University, lauded some of the upsides of the baccalaureate, such as decreasing the number of subjects and offering opportunities to retake the exams which, he said, leads to alleviating the “notorious pressure” of the Thanawiya Amma.

Nevertheless, Al-Gizawi pointed to a number of challenges. “Reforming education requires a comprehensive strategy that connects secondary and university education with the labour market.”

Al-Gizawi voiced his reservations about certain points, including improvement fees and the inclusion of religious education as a core subject. Education reform must be approached through a comprehensive strategy encompassing secondary and technical education, university education — be it governmental, private, national, or technological — and aligning all these with the demands of the labour market, he noted. “This raises a critical question: why the haste to implement these changes next year without conducting a holistic study of the move?”

Al-Gizawi asked: “Does the government have the human and material resources to sustain secondary exams spanning four months annually when the state is currently struggling to manage one or two months?” Exams in the proposed system will be offered for the second secondary year in May and July while those of the third year will take place in June and August.

“Furthermore, imposing financial fees for improvement contravenes constitutional principles, and the inclusion of religious education not only conflicts with the principle of equal opportunities but also risks fostering discord and discrimination among citizens, a catastrophic issue that cannot be overlooked,” he added.

Al-Gizawi noted that it is imperative to assess the four proposed focus areas, both in terms of their structure and the subjects they encompass.


* A version of this article appears in print in the 16 January, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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