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Egyptian schools lack classroom engagement

Inside the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. (Ahmed Elkhamisy/YJI)

Sixth of October City, EGYPT – As I graduated this year from the British education system, I found myself relieved that this journey was finally ending.

For centuries, Egypt was known for its excellence in academia. Throughout history Egypt was a hub for knowledge, and united scholars and academics from all over the world.

We felt like we had to live up to a standard.

As time passed, learning became less about growth and enlightenment. In Egypt, creativity became less and less acknowledged, especially in our classrooms.

For students in the British system, teachers are encouraged to keep an engaged classroom. Assigning research projects, or even doing classroom activities are some examples of making sure students’ energies are high, and to keep them alert.

Inside the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. (Ahmed Elkhamisy/YJI)

But this isn’t the case here. There is little to no engagement in any classroom anywhere in Egypt, no matter whether your school uses the British system or another one.

Teachers have this automatic “any questions at the end” policy, leaving most of the class time spent on just explaining a topic. This leaves most students bored, and I would usually zone out of the class no matter how hard I tried to stay focused.

This frustrated me so much. I’m the kind of learner who likes to do more hands-on work. Even though I’m aware I’m smart, this isn’t reflected in my grades, and teachers find me personally frustrating because I can never score the grades they expect. This is my reality as a neurodivergent student.

No matter what system you’re in, the traditional Egyptian method of teaching remains. I had an expectation of receiving a better education when I joined my new school this year.

My parents raved about the kind of education I might receive from a school so fancy, but in reality, the type of education I received was exactly the same kind of education I got from my old school. It was deeply upsetting, and rather humiliating.

Something that surprised a lot of my friends abroad was how Egyptian teachers never use the official textbooks assigned to us by our UK exam boards. Instead, Egyptian teachers perceive education as an opportunity to milk as much money as they can from students.

They would tell us to get their “teacher’s notes” which is like a textbook they’ve made themselves. They would also tell us to buy the practice books that they wrote.

This is a really big hassle, as students would get their teacher’s materials for every single subject, and would need to call a specific bookstore and request said teacher’s materials.

In Egypt, it’s common for teachers to teach in academic centers, and these classes they give are similar to the ones they give in school. Sometimes, it’s beneficial for the students who want to attend the same class twice, or maybe if they missed it in school, they can easily attend a class in those centers – as long as they can pay to attend.

When I was attending Year 10 and 11 in Alexandria, I attended classes only in academic centers because teachers would have contracts with several other schools, and they preferred to round up all their students in one place at these academic centers. These classes would often take place during the evening or night.

This resulted in me arriving home as late as 1 a.m., leading to a messed-up sleep schedule that restuled in having no time to study. I had to leave the house every single day, and so these classes were my only form of studying.

I am glad to be leaving this system behind. It has been the hardest 12 years of my life. Although I expected my teachers would make learning a little less stressful, my experience was the complete opposite.

Jana Salama is a  Junior Reporter with Youth Journalism International. She wrote this commentary.

Ahmed Elkhamisy is a Reporter with Youth Journalism International. He made the photographs for this article.

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1 Comment

  • I notice many similarities with the Moroccan educational system, which explains its unsatisfactory global ranking. very interesting article!