The Education and Scientific Research Committee of the House of Representatives, chaired by MP Ashraf El-Shihy, recommended on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, reconsidering the relative-weight score required for appointment in the fifth phase of the teacher hiring competition, which is 71, and lowering it so that the appointment of 72,000 teachers can be completed, while discussing 23 urgent questions on teacher hiring competitions in the presence of Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Hany Hanna Azer.
The committee also called for re-examining the cases of applicants excluded for testing positive for the hepatitis B virus, appointing teachers within their place of residence, easing the minimum appointment conditions where needed, and drawing up a five-year plan to close the teacher shortage. MP Mohamed El-Demmaty asked for the threshold to be lowered from 71% to 65% “as in previous competitions”, and Minister Azer stressed his ministry’s keenness to closely follow up the recommendations.
Education Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif sent apologies for not attending the committee’s two meetings on Tuesday, and the notice gave no reason or alternative date, while the ministry has not commented on the recommendations. The ministry’s central administration for teachers had contacted in October fifth-batch applicants with a relative weight between 65 and 70% whose names did not appear on the final lists.
Photo: Linda Herrera via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
