Minister of Education and Technical Education, Mohamed Abdel-Latif, revealed a comprehensive restructuring plan for the Thanaweya Amma (high school) education system. The plan will take effect in the 2024/2025 academic year.
During a press conference attended by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Abdel-Latif stated that the plan, developed in coordination with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, aims to redesign high school education's scientific and cognitive content.
The minister indicated that the restructuring of secondary education aims to emphasize national identity by deepening the study of Egypt's history and integrating national topics into the curriculum. It also focuses on equipping students with the skills necessary to meet the job market demands.
Additionally, there is a strong emphasis on mastering one core foreign language, with an increased number of class hours dedicated to its study.
The ministry has decided that for 12th-grade students in the Science section, the Second Foreign Language and Geology and Environmental Sciences subjects will now be pass/fail and will not be included in the total grades. For students in the Mathematics section, the Second Foreign Language will also be excluded from the total grades, and Mathematics will be redesigned as a single subject. Students in the Literature section will also have Psychology and the Second Foreign Language relegated to pass/fail status.
The total number of subjects will be reduced from seven to five.
To combat overcrowded classrooms, secondary schools will be split into morning and evening shifts, which will allow some schools to accommodate primary students during the morning hours, optimizing the use of educational facilities.
The ministry also plans to address the chronic teacher shortage through a presidential initiative to hire 30,000 teachers annually. It also plans to contract 50,000 part-time teachers to meet staffing needs across various educational administrations.
The academic year will be extended from 23 to 31 weeks, with each class period increased by five minutes to ensure adequate instructional time.
According to the ministry, the new school year 2024/2025 will begin on 21 September 2024. The first semester of the new school year will run from 21 September 2024 to 23 January 2025. Mid-term exams will begin on 11 January 2025. The second semester will begin on 8 February 2025, and the final exams for Thanaweya Amma will commence on 14 June 2025.
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