The approval of the Egyptian Parliament on July 8th, 2025, for the final version of the government’s proposed law amending certain provisions of the Education Law (Law No. 139 of 1981) sparked controversy within educational and parliamentary circles, as well as widespread concerns among parents of students heading into the general secondary stage and the newly introduced baccalaureate system created by these amendments. The amendments also faced criticism for setting the passing grade for religious education at 70% and imposing financial fees if a student fails and needs to retake the exam or repeat the academic year, which could burden low-income parents.
Despite parliamentary reservations and objections from members of political opposition parties such as the Social Democratic Party, the Wafd Party, and the Tagammu Party, as well as lawmakers from the Youth Coordination of Political Parties and Youth, who opposed granting the Minister of Education the authority to approve parallel programs to the general secondary education system and impose fees without consulting the parliament, the law was passed. These lawmakers viewed this as an encroachment by the executive branch on the legislative powers of the Parliament, criticizing the absence of clear financial allocations in the budget to support the new programs, and the 70% passing requirement for religious education, despite the shortage of specialized teachers, especially in Christian religious studies. They also expressed concerns that this law could be the start of privatizing education and turning students into guinea pigs for any newly introduced educational system. Despite these objections, Parliament swiftly approved the law.
The approval came after several amendments to the law, including the removal of certain provisions and the introduction of new ones regarding the Egyptian Baccalaureate certificate, making it an optional educational system offered for free, without replacing the general secondary education system. Parliamentary changes were made to the improvement system, so that retaking a subject for the first time would be completely free of charge. If a student retakes the exam, they would pay a fee of only 200 EGP ($4) per subject, with the possibility of gradual increases based on a decision by the Cabinet, but the increase would not exceed 400 EGP ($8) per subject. This also applies to vocational and technical education, including technological secondary education.
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Legal Affairs, and Political Communication, Mahmoud Fawzy, considered that the bill, which includes the provision that only the first exam for students in the new system will be fully free, does not impact the free education principle in any way. He explained during the law’s discussion that the principle of free education is constitutionally protected and guaranteed in the amended law. He clarified that the proposed new system, known as the “Baccalaureate,” does not cancel the existing general secondary system but rather introduces an optional parallel path, offering additional benefits that align with international educational systems, without imposing it on students. The current system will remain in place, and those who wish to continue with it have every right to do so, while the new system offers alternatives that align with the state’s direction towards connecting education to the labor market. He also pointed out that the law enhances national identity by affirming that religious education, Arabic language, and national history are core and fundamental components of the educational system.
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Free Education on the Brink
Member of Parliament, Sana’a Al-Sayed, emphasized to “Zawia3” the rejection of the Democratic Social Party members of the government’s proposed law amending certain provisions of the Education Law, in principle. They raised objections to the amendments and presented their concerns, considering the final version of the law, which was approved on Tuesday, a blatant violation of Egypt’s free education principle. The law introduced provisions related to “improving levels,” where when a student seeks to improve their grades in certain subjects, fees that were once minimal, at 20 EGP ($0.40), have now been raised to 1000 EGP ($20) and 250 EGP ($5). These figures undoubtedly hinder equal opportunities, as a poor student cannot afford them, thus providing an advantage to those who can pay, at the expense of the poor class.
The MP states: “This law came at a time that lacks any social study, without holding any dialogue sessions with experts and specialists in education, and without relying on statistics and figures that address poverty rates, the current situation, and the infrastructure of the educational system in Egypt. This includes the condition of the schools, student density in classrooms, and teacher shortages. We are still facing a shortage of teachers. The Minister of Education is manipulating his reports to the Council, the MPs, and the public, claiming to have solved the teacher shortage by employing ‘lesson teachers,’ whose job status is unstable, and therefore cannot provide good educational outcomes for our children.”
She adds: “There are subjects that should form a significant part of the academic level for our children, from kindergarten through to the end of secondary school. When subjects are canceled and others are made non-compulsory, it is like turning the entire educational process upside down. The levels of poverty in Egyptian society have not been taken into consideration. The minister wants to transfer experiences from international schools and others and apply them to public education, while the infrastructure of public education in our government schools is not qualified to accommodate the idea of having two systems in the secondary stage: the regular system and the baccalaureate system.”
Sana’a Al-Sayed reveals that the Minister of Education himself stated in the Education Committee when MPs discussed the matter that he would still apply for the accreditation of the baccalaureate system in international institutions abroad. The only certified certificate in Egypt is the General Secondary School Certificate, which allows students to enroll in universities in any country they travel to. As for the baccalaureate, until the law was issued, it was not recognized at all. It is impossible for us to have two systems between which students can choose, then for international institutions to recognize both systems simultaneously. She considered the system to be deeply flawed, and this will first and foremost affect the students and their future, increasing the suffering that parents will face.
Member of Parliament Dr. Fredi Al-Bayadi, Deputy Chairman of the Democratic Social Party, criticized the way the amendments to the Education Law (Law No. 139 of 1981) were passed in just one week, without a comprehensive societal dialogue that includes teachers, parents, students, and education experts. He warned of the serious consequences these amendments would have on social justice and the quality of education in Egypt, describing the move as legislative chaos that threatens the stability of the educational system.
While the MP acknowledges that some amendments are positive, such as introducing the “Technological Baccalaureate” system, adopting the competency-based system, improving evaluation mechanisms, and linking vocational education to the labor market, he points out fundamental flaws in the law amendments that undermine the principle of free education enshrined in Article 19 of the Constitution. This includes the imposition of exam fees and retake fees of up to 2000 EGP ($40), which threatens to increase dropout rates and create glaring class discrimination.
He says to “Zawia3”: “Raising the passing grade for religious education to 70%, without considering the lack of specialized teachers, weak curricula, and the disparity between religions and sects, will drive students to take private lessons in religious education or resort to cheating. The law also grants the minister broad powers to set fees, admission conditions, and academic standards, without parliamentary oversight or legislative guarantees. It opens the door for paid vocational programs within schools without sufficient controls to ensure quality or official accreditation, turning education into a commodity.”
The MP believes that education reform is a matter bigger than law amendments and beyond the capabilities of any minister, no matter their intentions. He calls for education to become a national project, one that the entire state adopts and places at the top of its priorities.
A State of Confusion?
Dr. Mohamed Abdel Aziz, a professor of sciences and education at Ain Shams University, does not hide his dissatisfaction with the state of confusion and systemic disorder in the new educational system approved by the Egyptian Parliament under the name of the “Egyptian Baccalaureate System.” He considers it lacking a clear vision or scientific foundations for building a modern educational framework and believes it will bring about disastrous consequences that will burden both students and their parents.
The academic expert and educator sees that the new system, especially the implementation of the baccalaureate system in secondary education, is based on an incoherent foundation of curricula that do not align with a clear set of standards that consider previous educational contexts. He questions: “Who developed these curricula? Where are the standards they were built on? How can a decisive system be launched without preparing teachers or setting up an appropriate school environment?” He affirms that what is happening is merely “a superficial proposal that was not discussed with specialists and was approved in Parliament without scrutiny or review.”
He says to Zawia3: “How can I be asked to teach ‘Advanced Level’ subjects when the student hasn’t even gone through the basics of the curriculum itself? Who will teach them? And are schools even equipped for this?” The modification to the evaluation system in the third preparatory year, where 20% of the total grade is based on coursework, represents systematic pressure on students and their parents, especially in such a crucial academic year. This decision places a large part of the student’s future in the hands of the teacher, without any guarantees to prevent exploitation or undue pressure on the student. It is simply a way to force students to attend, while the real reasons for their absences—primarily the poor quality of education—remain unaddressed.”
He points out that imposing attendance as part of the coursework grade, in the context of overcrowded classrooms, a severe shortage of teachers, and curricula that require fundamental revision, is nothing but “educational bullying.” He adds: “If you want students to return to school, start by improving what is offered to them inside it. Don’t force them back into a repulsive system; change it from within.” He emphasizes the importance of presenting any new educational project, according to educational norms, to specialists and experts before passing it as a final law, because society cannot bear more haphazard experimentation on an entire generation of students.
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Excluding the Teacher from the Law
In the same context, Dr. Buthaina Abdel-Raouf, an educational expert, warns that introducing the “Egyptian Baccalaureate” system as a parallel path to the general secondary education will result in a state of legislative and educational chaos, especially in the absence of any real preparation for teachers, students, or even school administrations to understand the new system, let alone implement it. The baccalaureate system, as proposed, relies on dividing the tracks into four branches: engineering, medicine, commerce. This classification is completely new to the Egyptian educational mindset. She questions: “How do we place students in a specialized track from the first year of secondary school without preparing them psychologically or intellectually? And who will teach these curricula?”
The expert believes that the proliferation of tracks, including the possibility for students to choose an additional track to improve their chances of university admission, essentially extends the study period to four years and burdens the family with multiplied educational costs, especially with the rising costs of private tutoring. She anticipates that parents will feel forced to push their children towards selecting multiple tracks, fearing lost opportunities. The result will be a significant financial burden on parents and a clear class distinction, leading to a fragmented education system.
Dr. Abdel-Raouf describes the current map of secondary education in Egypt as “fragmented,” with multiple systems now existing within the public education system itself: traditional secondary education, the Egyptian Baccalaureate, Nile Schools, Al-Azhar schools, and international schools with American and British systems. She notes that every social class in Egypt now has its own version of the general secondary system. She considers this not educational flexibility, but rather “regulated chaos.”
She tells Zawia3: “One of the biggest flaws in the proposed education law is the lack of any vision for addressing the teacher shortage crisis. ‘How can we talk about educational development in the face of a chronic shortage? Education cannot continue without the teacher. Even if we introduce technology and modern systems, there must be a human being who teaches and interacts.’ Ignoring the teacher in the law and not addressing ways to fill the shortage makes any development superficial and meaningless.”
The expert also rejects the inclusion of 20% of the third preparatory year grade as coursework, considering this year to be the only one in which a student is evaluated without the influence of the teacher or private tutoring. She explains that introducing coursework at this stage opens the door to unfairness and exploitation. She adds: “The third preparatory year was the last remaining area of objective assessment, because the student either passes or fails based on a clear official exam. But now, a student may be penalized simply for not taking a private lesson or because they did not please their teacher. This is where we lose our educational compass.”
Despite her reservations about the new law, Dr. Abdel-Raouf considers the move towards enhancing technical and technological education, extending its duration from three to five years, as a step in the right direction, as this sector has been marginalized, despite the labor market’s urgent need for it.
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Undermining the Right to Free Education
Dr. Kamal Mageeth, a researcher at the National Center for Educational Research, believes that the current path represents more than just superficial development; it reveals a prolonged policy of gradually diminishing the right to free education and citizens’ access to a good public school. He points out that the roots of this crisis trace back to 2014, when President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, upon taking office, issued a decision to halt the hiring of new teachers in public schools.
He says to Zawia3: “Since then, we have faced a structural shortage of over 600,000 teachers, the direct cause being compliance with the IMF’s conditions, which mandated a freeze on hiring in the public sector. This buried any attempt at reform from the very beginning.”
The researcher clarifies that the withdrawal didn’t just affect human resources; it also extended to the budget itself. Article 19 of the Constitution mandates that the state allocate 4% of GDP for education, but the actual expenditure is just 1.8%, less than half of what is required. He considers this a deliberate reduction, describing it as a political withdrawal from the state’s responsibility toward education. He emphasizes that imposing fees on public education, even if they appear symbolic, represents a fundamental shift in educational philosophy—from a right to a privilege.
He adds in his statements: “When poor families are asked to pay 300 or 500 EGP, after generations have grown up with the principle of free education, you are creating educational classism under the guise of austerity. These policies pave the way for one idea: that quality education is no longer for everyone.”
Regarding the amendments to Education Law No. 139 of 1981, Mageeth asserts that these are not separate from this trajectory and considers them a legislative attempt to institutionalize the concept of fees within the law, through the introduction of two different educational systems—traditional education and the baccalaureate system. He predicts that the immediate result will be that the poor will attend school just to pass, while the wealthy can pay to improve grades and access better educational opportunities. This, he believes, will create class-based discrimination unworthy of a society that claims equality.
He concludes his remarks with a warning: “Educational justice is being dismantled from the inside, not with a single blow, but through accumulated decisions that strip education of its meaning and turn it from a constitutional right into a paid service, its quality determined by the parent’s ability, not the student’s capabilities.”
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Opening the Door for Democratic Choice?
Contrary to the views of experts who have expressed criticisms and concerns about the amendments to the Education Law and the introduction of the “Egyptian Baccalaureate” as a parallel system to the general secondary education, Dr. Hassan Shahat, a professor of curricula and teaching methods at the Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, describes what is happening as a rare democratic shift in the history of Egyptian education. He sees it as the first time students and their parents are given the freedom to choose between two different secondary education systems, based on personal vision, capacity, and the student’s psychological and intellectual readiness.
Dr. Shahat believes that the traditional general secondary education system has failed in several areas. It is a system based on rote memorization, does not allow for grade improvement, and does not effectively prepare students for university education or provide a clear academic path. Moreover, it excludes students from fields that are in demand in the job market. The result is that the student passes through a hollow secondary stage, only to be thrown into a university without knowing why they chose it or where it is leading them.
In contrast, Shahat offers an alternative view regarding the Egyptian Baccalaureate system, describing it as a pathway that takes into account academic and specialized diversity, allowing students to shape their scientific path from the very start of secondary education. This includes specialized tracks linked to engineering, medicine, commerce, or humanities, aligning with the needs of the national economy and labor market. He considers the most significant advantage of the law not just in the content, but in the overall philosophy of the new system.
He says to Zawia3: “The ministry did not impose the baccalaureate on everyone; it opened the door for students to choose between the traditional system and the baccalaureate. This is unprecedented in our educational history and reflects a real respect for diversity and societal dialogue. It is one of the trends of modern Egypt, and the Ministry of Education does not work in isolation from the people.”
Shahat concludes his remarks by emphasizing that the current educational reforms, primarily the introduction of the Egyptian Baccalaureate, are not just administrative policies but a manifestation of a broader vision aimed at “building the new Egyptian citizen,” in line with the country’s plans and the vision of the new republic. He states: “We are witnessing education being reshaped to be part of a global competitive system, based on intellect rather than memorization, and on dialogue rather than imposition.”
Treating Parents as Opponents, Not Partners
Fatima Fathy, founder of the “Education Without Borders” initiative, expresses her growing concern as one of the parents whose children will join the new general secondary system, known as the “Egyptian Baccalaureate.” She describes the new system as vague and incomplete, considering that the division of subjects over two years may be a good step for some students, but, on the other hand, it will extend the duration of the general secondary education to four or five years in Egyptian households that do not have the luxury of time or money. She explains that families with twins or more may find themselves trapped in an endless loop of secondary education.
She tells Zawia3: “The Ministry has not yet informed us about what we will choose. All we know so far are scattered posts on Facebook and contradictory decisions that are not adequate to define the future of an entire generation. We want a clear statement from the minister, not from an anonymous blog or a brief press statement.” She asks: “What will the curricula look like? Are they the same as the curricula for the second and third secondary years that you’ve recently introduced? What about the exam system? Will it use bubble sheets or not? Is the baccalaureate system actually accredited, or is it still under consideration? How can I enroll my child in a system I don’t know whether its certificate will be recognized? And what if he fails? Does the preparatory certificate become the last stage of his education?”
The initiative founder adds: “Grade improvement is just another trap, because it’s linked to the ability to pay, even if the amount is only 200 EGP ($4). After going through a marathon of private tutoring, no one can bear more.” She believes that the current Minister of Education seems to have decided to make the parent his main opponent, noting that neither the teacher, the administrator, the member of parliament, nor the parent understands the system he has implemented.
Fatima points out that the Ministry has been applying different curricula for four consecutive batches since the fourth grade, creating a generation with no shared educational experience, as each batch studied a different curriculum from the previous one. Now, the Ministry is changing the curricula for the second and third secondary years and integrating them into a new system that might change again because of the baccalaureate.
While the government promotes the amendments to the Education Law as a “quantum leap” toward a modern and multi-track education system, many educators, experts, and parents consider the new law to be a leap into the unknown, with the student, parent, and teacher bearing its consequences. In the absence of a clear implementation roadmap, qualified infrastructure, and equal access to knowledge, the official promises do not seem sufficient to reassure citizens. They fear that their children will become guinea pigs for the new educational system and that the meaning of free education will gradually fade under the guise of development, while social justice remains a postponed goal.
