Minister of Education and Technical Education, Mohamed Abdel Latif (L) and Minister of Awqaf, Osama Al-Azhari (R). Photo courtesy: Joint statement by both entities.
The initiative follows directives from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to strengthen inter-ministerial cooperation to better serve citizens, according to a joint statement issued Wednesday.
Religious Endowments Minister Osama El-Azhari and Education Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif signed a cooperation protocol at the Endowments Ministry to launch the project, which will utilize mosque spaces during morning hours for kindergarten programs.
Under the plan, the Education Ministry will assign qualified teachers to lead sessions combining educational and recreational activities, with appropriate learning materials and playground equipment. Selected mosques—initially one per village—will be furnished accordingly, with all materials removed before midday prayers.
El-Azhari emphasized the role of mosques in supporting early education and fostering literacy, ethics, and national identity among young children, especially amid increasing exposure to digital content. Abdel Latif affirmed his ministry’s commitment to strengthening both moral and academic foundations in early childhood education.
The initiative comes amid broader efforts to expand access to preschool services. According to the Ministry of Social Solidarity, Egypt currently has 16,560 registered nurseries, which meet only 8 percent of the national need, with 621,806 children enrolled.
To address the gap, the ministry launched a nationwide nursery inventory in June aimed at boosting nursery capacity, improving operations, and raising enrollment rates.
Qena Governorate, the pilot site, has a population of 3.7 million, accounting for roughly 3.4 percent of Egypt’s 107.9 million people, according to CAPMAS.
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