UA-R-GC-1914-01-01-1958-02-24_Page-092

t Oh ~ i THE AMERICAN UNIVOL3ITY AT CAIRO FACULTY 01? EDUCATION February 27, 958 I . Egypt's Need for Trained Leadership in Education Rocont trends in Egyptian education reveal the following: (1) Tromondous Expansion on all Levels: When A.U.C. first opened its doors in 1975-the total number of pupils and students in all types of schools, Govern-rIont and private, national and foreign, amounted to less than a million., In 1957 the number exceeded 3 millions . (2) A Colossal Increase in the Annual Budget in the Ministry of Educations While in 1920 the budget in round fi tiros amountòd-Eó 4 million Egyptian pounds, for the next year (1958-59) the figure has been ostiratod to be 40 millions or ten fold what it was in 1920. (3) A Stop Toward Decentralization: Until recently all authority and executive decisions - oven tho most trivial routine matters - such as dismissing, ad-mitting, or roadmitting a studont - were vested in the •antral office in Cairo, and actually in the hands of the Ministry himself. Now the country is divided into 20 educational zones with a superintendent for each, This typo of centralization, however, is still nominal. Curricula and syllabuses down to the minutost detail, examinations, finance, appointment of toachors, and other administrative: smatters aro still in the hands of tho lanistry. Tho community in each zono is in no way whatever a participant. (4) University Educ,Ition: Duo to hoavy pressure of public opinion tho Govornmont has ad:littod a . nunbor of studonts to its four univorsitios, out of all pro-portion to the capacity, staff and oquipmont of those univorsities, and out of all proportion to the nur:bcr of socondary school graduatos who would nor-rally qualify for university and hi;hor oducation. Nevertheless there aro still thousands of pupils who cannot find room in any of the colleges of the four universities. The number of students in the four universities and higher institutes outside the universities is already near striking the figure 100 thousand. This moans, that in a year or two there will be one univofsity studont to ovary 200 inhabitants, countin everybody including infants and adults. Despite the fact that only 60% of the school ago population is so far pro-vidod for, this ratio is practically hi hor than any, othor country in Europo, if not in the wholo world, U.S.A. oxcoptod. ¶ho ratio in U.S.A. is 1:70,. but there aro more univorsity and collego students in U.S.A. then the combined totals in the rest of the world.. (5) Ono System of Education for All Arab Countries: For the last two years stronous efforts are being made to unify educational practices of all kinds in order to follow a uniform syston in organization, administration, contontir of curricula, and nothods of to~.ching in as i any Arabic-spoaking countries as possiblo. The recent creation of A.U.R. (Arab United Republic) has groat-ly intensified this trend. 4, %/