This comes within the framework of the government’s strategic plan to develop technical and vocational education and to prepare a generation capable of competing locally, regionally and internationally.
According to Shady Zalata, the spokesman for the Ministry of Education, five applied technology schools for the pharmaceuticals industry were opened in several governorates: two in Cairo and one each in Giza, Alexandria and Al-Qalyubia.
The schools aim to qualify graduates specialised in the pharmaceuticals industry, cosmetics, dietary supplements and clinical trials, Zalata said. It is a three-year degree, he added.
At the end of the three years, graduates would receive a technological diploma accredited by the Ministry of Education. They also receive internationally accredited training certificates in quality and international standards from Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), Regulatory Affairs, and Clinical Trials. In addition, students obtain certified experience certificates from the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) and a competency certificate from the Technological Institute for Pharmaceutical Industries in Rome, Zalata said.
Students will be studying throughout the three years basic cultural sciences and technical sciences in the field of specialisation in addition to field training.
Amr Boseela, head of the ministry’s Central Administration for Technical Education Development, said students will be granted direct employment opportunities with partner pharmaceutical companies in the programme, ensuring a secured career path after graduation. They will also gain hands-on experience through training in factories and companies belonging to the industrial partner during their studies.
Students receive an experience certificate from the industrial partner, strengthening their professional profile. During their training, students are granted regular financial stipends. The schools, too, provide transportation for students to training sites, along with full meals to ensure their health and proper nutrition. “These schools focus on equipping students with the skills and knowledge needed to meet the demands of the essential and growing pharmaceutical industry sector,” Boseela said, adding that the curriculum prepares students with advanced academic and practical experiences close to university-level, with emphasis on good manufacturing practices and occupational safety from the first year.
Egypt has witnessed a qualitative leap, according to Boseela, in technological education in recent years, due to comprehensive policies adopted by the government through joint coordination between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education.
Boseela said the jump was the result of a clear-cut plan based on several key pillars, foremost being the participation of the private sector in developing curricula, preparing teaching staff capable of providing distinguished education for students, and establishing technological universities that accommodate graduates of technical and vocational education.
When the ministry began implementing the strategy in 2018, Egypt ranked 118 globally; today it ranks 43. This reflects the significant progress in the quality of technical education, Boseela added.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 25 September, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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