This announcement regarding replacing the current Thanaweya Amma system was made on Wednesday during the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

The prime minister directed that implementation mechanisms be discussed within the Ministerial Committee for Human Development to develop a more detailed framework.

A finalized version will be prepared for public dialogue before implementation.

During the meeting, Minister of Education and Technical Education Mohamed Abdel-Latif outlined the key features of the Egyptian Baccalaureate Certificate system.

Egyptian Baccalaureate Certificate focus
 

This system focuses on developing intellectual and critical thinking skills, replacing rote memorization and indoctrination learning methods.

It emphasizes multidisciplinary learning by integrating scientific, literary, and artistic subjects, along with continuous assessment and the division of subjects over at least two years.

Additionally, the system offers international recognition, according to Minister Abdel-Latif.

New system structure
 

The new system is divided into two stages: the preparatory stage, covering the first year of secondary school (10th grade), and the main stage, encompassing the second and third years (11th and 12th grade).

The preparatory stage will include core subjects that contribute to the total grade. These are religious education, Arabic language, Egyptian history, mathematics, integrated sciences, philosophy, logic, and the first foreign language.

In addition, students will take subjects like a second foreign language, programming, and computer science, which are excluded from the total grade.

Meanwhile, the main stage (the second year of secondary school) will offer core subjects, including Arabic language, Egyptian history, and the first foreign language.

At this stage, students will choose one specialized subject based on their focus area.

Here are the focus areas. 

• Medicine and Life Sciences: standard-level mathematics and physics 
• Engineering and Computer Sciences: advanced-level mathematics and physics 
• Business: advanced-level economics and standard-level mathematics  
• Arts and Humanities: advanced-level geography and statistics. 

In the third year of secondary school, the core subjects for all specializations will also include religious education.

The only difference in specialized subjects for the third year, compared to the second year, is in medicine and life sciences, where students will study advanced biology and advanced chemistry. The rest of the subjects remain the same.

Multi-attempt examination policy
 

The education minister outlined a set of general rules for the main stage of the Baccalaureate system.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Madbouly said that the new system provides students with multiple exam opportunities, allowing them to retake and improve their grades if they fail on the first attempt.

Accordingly, students will have two exam opportunities each academic year. For second-year subjects, exams will be held in May and July, while for third-year subjects, they will take place in June and August.

The first exam attempt is free of charge, and each subsequent attempt requires a fee of EGP 500 per exam.

In addition, students must take their first exam attempt in the designated academic year without delay or taking it ahead of schedule. However, retaking the exam is allowed in any academic year.

All attempts made by the student, along with their grades, are recorded, and the academic year in which each attempt was made is also specified.

A comprehensive record of all attempts is sent to the coordination office for further processing.

However, it has not been clarified whether the grades from the first attempt or subsequent attempts will not be considered for students who have taken multiple exams.

Grading system & additional subjects
 

On the grading system, each subject in the secondary stage is graded out of 100 marks, and the final score is calculated by summing the marks obtained in all subjects.

If the student wishes to pursue multiple pathways, they can study additional subjects at any level, provided this happens after completing their primary pathway.

Note that the maximum duration for studying in the main stage is four years, excluding the preparatory year of the secondary school.

This is the second time the secondary education system has been amended. The first time was the comprehensive restructuring plan for the Thanaweya Amma (high school) education system, unveiled in August 2024.