CairoThe decision to cancel some subjects at the secondary education stage in Egypt, and to exclude others from the total, caused a radical transformation in the lives of thousands of teachers who were relying on teaching these subjects as a basic source of livelihood.
Thousands of teachers suddenly found themselves without students and without income, which increased financial and social pressures, cast a shadow on the future of these teachers, and pushed them to search for new options that may not be compatible with their qualifications and experience.
The number of students enrolled in secondary education exceeds two million and 100 thousand students, and the total number of contracted and appointed teachers is about 100 thousand male and female teachers, according to a report issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
Decision details
In the middle of last August, the new Minister of Education, Mohamed Abdel Latif, surprised everyone by presenting a plan to restructure the secondary stage to reduce the burden of students by reducing the number of subjects and redesigning the scientific and cognitive content as follows:
- Cancellation of the subjects of geology and environmental sciences for high school in the science division.
- Cancellation of the subjects of psychology and philosophy for the general secondary school in the literary section.
- Making the second foreign language one of the subjects outside the total.
- Integrating the chemistry, physics, and biology curricula into one subject for first secondary school.
- Canceling the subject of geography from the study in the first year of secondary school.
- Integrating mathematics subjects into one subject.
Thus, the subjects for the first year of secondary school become 6 subjects instead of 10 subjects, and the subjects for the second year of secondary school become 5 subjects instead of 8 subjects.
Students in the Science Division study 5 subjects instead of 7 subjects, which are (Arabic – the first foreign language – biology – chemistry – physics).
Students in the Scientific Division of Mathematics study 5 subjects instead of 7 subjects, which are (Arabic – the first foreign language – mathematics – chemistry – physics).
As for the Literary Division, students study 5 subjects instead of 7 subjects, which are (Arabic – the first foreign language – history – geography – statistics).
Negative impact on teachers
Private lessons are a major source of livelihood for many teachers, with wages falling to less than $150 a month, but the cancellation, merging, and exclusion of some subjects from the total has put them facing new challenges in the labor market, and led to some major impacts.
These impacts include sudden unemployment, as teachers find themselves without income. Some were forced to reconsider their career path and future, while others faced difficulties in acquiring new skills to adapt to the needs of the labor market, especially if they had invested years in teaching a particular subject that was now no longer in demand.
Tough choices
All the available options were not easy. Some chose to move on to teaching other subjects that were still required in the educational system, or to search for job opportunities in other educational levels such as primary and middle school, while others headed to other fields and professions of work such as tourism, trade, or even working as drivers.
Since the announcement of the decision, many stories have emerged showing how teachers dealt with this sudden change, which required them to be flexible and adapt to the changes, and the majority of them suffered from great difficulties.
Over the course of 10 years, Ahmed Samir (geology teacher) was able to build a strong name in the world of private lessons in Giza Governorate (south of Cairo) through his large educational platform, where students flocked to him from all over the world.
Samir told Al Jazeera Net, “After the shocking decision to cancel geology as a basic subject in secondary school, I felt as if I was in a dark tunnel. I had lost everything I had built. It seemed as if my professional future had ended, and I began to wonder what will come after this?”
Instead of giving up, Samir decided to switch to teaching biology. He knew that he would be starting from scratch in a new field, and that he would not have the same fame and success that he had achieved in geology, but he had to build a new base of students and achieve success in a different world of teaching.
As for Imad (a French teacher), he has been providing academic and moral support to students for more than 10 years to obtain the highest grades. However, after the sudden decision to cancel French as a basic subject, he canceled classes and returned the month’s money to parents. With eyes full of sorrow, he bid farewell to his students, wishing them success and excellence in their future.
“The only option before me,” Imad told Al Jazeera Net, “was to leave the educational field completely. I am not fluent in another language or in another job. I decided to search for a new source of income, and working in the field of tourism was the closest option.”
Imad bid farewell to his young family, and spent days and weeks moving between tourist cities in search of his livelihood. The new life was difficult for him, as he had always been close to his family, but he was forced to be estranged from them in order to provide them with a decent life.
Muhammad (a geography teacher), who became famous among the students of the literary section, would begin his day by preparing his lessons and delivering them to his students with enthusiasm. But the ministerial decision to cancel his subject as a basic subject was a severe blow to his professional future.
Muhammad did not wait long to search for an alternative, and he told Al Jazeera Net, “I decided to invest in my personal car to work as a taxi driver through smart applications, and I will not sit with my cheek on my hand and think about what happened to me and my colleagues.”
This unemployed teacher found himself behind the wheel after standing in front of the blackboard imparting knowledge. He now transported passengers, moving between the streets of the city in search of his daily bread. In his car’s front mirror, he saw the old days and his transition from the world of books to the world of roads.
Some people’s misfortunes have benefits for others
Despite the material and moral damage the decision caused to thousands of teachers and their families, it spread a feeling of relief among Egyptian students and families, as it contributed to reducing the burden of high school on students and their families, despite the confusion and turmoil the decisions caused.
Some believe that reducing curricula and making subjects fit students’ abilities represents a positive step to improve the level of academic achievement, which was confirmed by the Minister of Education, who said that his new plan “received a high rate of acceptance because of its impact in reducing the burden on the Egyptian family, without neglecting the knowledge that will be studied.” Students.”
