Egypt's Cabinet on Wednesday lodged a formal request with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Agency for Organisation and Management to approve an earlier request by the education minister to offer teachers employed on a temporary basis permanent contracts.

The Cabinet also approved a plan tabled by the Ministry of Education to promote some 600,000 teachers whose promotions had been postponed. Promotions will reportedly include bonuses amounting to 25 per cent of teachers' base salaries.

The twin decisions come on the heels of a nationwide strike by Egyptian teachers that entered its fourth day on Wednesday.