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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 May 1999 Issue No. 429 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 May 1999 Issue No. 429
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Books Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Sixth primary back and forth
By Shaden ShehabA decision by Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri's cabinet to re-institute the sixth primary school year, abolished 10 years earlier, left educationists and parents on opposite sides of the fence. The experts lauded the decision, announced last week, but many parents felt confused and frustrated.
The decision must be incorporated in the education law and, therefore, needs parliament's approval, which is almost guaranteed.
The new system, if approved, will be applied to students enrolling for the first primary school year in the coming academic year.
In 1989, Fathi Sorour, then education minister and now parliament speaker, abolished the sixth primary school year. His reasons were: reducing an overdose of primary school curricula, dealing with a shortage of teachers and classrooms and cutting expenses. As a result, children completed only 11 years of pre-university education, instead of the usual 12.
However, a few years into the experiment, several conferences on education recommended the restoration of the abolished year. One of these conferences was held in 1994 under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak. The cabinet, spurred by Education Minister Hussein Kamel Bahaeddin, took action only last week.
The combination of the fifth and sixth primary school years caused the number of secondary school graduates to double in 1995, reaching a staggering 250,000, which caused great difficulty in absorbing them in universities.
But the re-institution of the sixth year will also cause problems. The children who are enrolled in first primary this academic year will lose two years instead of one, if they fail in their exams. The reason is that they will have to re-do the year (take the same courses or attend the same classes) which they failed and will have to complete the sixth year.
Another problem is that in the academic year 2004-2005, pupils will go to sixth primary, instead of first preparatory. This means that there will be only those pupils who failed in their exams and are re-doing the year in first preparatory. The same will happen each year until they reach their last secondary school year. As a result, the academic year 2009-2010 will witness the graduation of a small number of secondary school students. Worse, their academic level is bound to be poor because they had previously failed in their exams. And yet, because of their limited number, they will be able to enrol in colleges usually reserved for the academic elite. This will not only demolish the principle of equal opportunity, but they will also find themselves studying in colleges that are above their academic standard.
Bahaeddin, in statements to the press, did not explain how these problems would be addressed. But he said that after pupils complete the fifth primary school year, the number of classrooms will have to be increased by about 25 per cent at an annual cost of LE200 million. This figure, however, is not high, he said, because education is considered as "part of national security".
Bahaeddin said the education budget has been increased by 46 per cent, compared to what it was in the 1980s. It now stands at LE16.1 billion, second only to the defence budget.
Bahaeddin explained that no new curricula will be introduced for the sixth year. What has been taught in five years will be distributed over six years, he said.
Hamed Ammar, professor emeritus at the Faculty of Education of Ain Shams University, said that "those who oppose the re-institution of the sixth year are mostly parents who wish to reduce the years and expenses of their children's education."
Ammar said the "mistake is not the re-institution of the sixth year but its previous cancellation. This resulted in a condensed curriculum and exhausted pupils and teachers."
Ammar said that several field studies showed that "the educational level of pupils had deteriorated, particularly in Arabic language and mathematics".
The two principal factors behind the efficiency of any educational system are horizontal and vertical expansion, Ammar said. "Horizontal expansion means the availability of schools all over Egypt. This availability is one of the symbols of educational development. Vertical expansion signifies an increase in the number of years of education, which gives children a better chance at being educated," he said.
Parents expressed a different view. Nevine Abdel-Azim, a housewife with twins in kindergarten, said that "ministers of education are messing with the future of our children. One minister abolishes the year, and then the other restores it. How can we guarantee that it will not be abolished again?" she asked.
Nawal Rushdi, a housewife with a three-year-old, said: "Schools already do not allow children to enrol for first kindergarten unless they are five years old, making them join their first primary school year when they are seven. Adding one more year will make them graduate from university at a relatively advanced age. This is ridiculous."
