Egypt 2026 Forum education session details school and university reform, labor-market alignment

Egypt 2026 Forum's opening education session heard ministers present education figures and plans linking curricula to labor-market needs.

• Qanswa said the higher-education system comprises 9,019 academic programs and 3,169 interdisciplinary programs under review to meet labor-market needs.
• Qanswa said universities grew from 55 in 2014 to 131 in 2026, hosting 138,000 foreign students from 119 nationalities.
• Madbouly said education quality is the next priority, and Education Minister Abdel Latif said Arabic and history will count as 20% of the grade in international schools from 2027/2028.
• Abdel Latif said class sizes fell below 50 students and attendance rose from 15% in 2023/2024 to 87% in 2025/2026.
• Abdel Latif said the 20% rule was originally issued in 2024 and applies to British IG students finishing early this academic year.
• Abdel Latif set a target of raising school attendance to 96%, after it reached 87% in the 2025/2026 academic year.
• Abdel Latif said applied technology schools will reach 225 in 2026/2027, up from 62 in 2023/2024 and above the 2030 target of 200.
• Abdel Latif said the teacher shortage of about 469,860 has been fully covered for core subjects, using annual hires of 30,000 teachers.
• Abdel Latif said 87% of students attend public schools and 13% attend private and international institutions.
• Abdel Latif said the ministry aims to reduce students' reliance on private tutoring and external learning sources by improving in-school education.