Egypt's Education Minister Tarek Shawky said on Monday during a meeting in parliament that his ministry is discussing the possibility of combining Al-Azhar pre-higher education schools curricula with the country's regular school programme.

Shawky added that the religious curriculum would be optional if the merging of the two systems takes place.

Egypt's Al-Azhar is the considered the world's foremost institution of Sunni Islamic learning.

Shawky said that Al-Azhar students are already being taught the same scientific curriculum offered at public schools.

As such, the idea of integrating the two systems is being studied.

The minister's comments came during a meeting of the parliamentary committee of education and scientific research headed by Gamal Shiha.