Problems on hold

I found it curious that our MPs bombarded Education Minister Yusri al-Gamal with 97 queries and interpellations on the national education system, the renovation of existing schools, and the building of new ones. I certainly have no objection to grilling the minister, but I am intrigued by the huge number of questions. I have no idea what issues they questioned; how were they tackled; what answer, comment, or justification did the minister offer—especially considering that the government enjoys a wide majority in Parliament—or whether any resolutions were issued to deal with the notorious shortcomings in the national educational process.
Those concerned about national education in Egypt are divided into two camps. The first focuses on the outer shell of the problem. Its members emphasise the poor condition of school buildings and playgrounds, the large number of students in every class, as well as the falsity of the idea of free education since parents are overburdened with tutoring fees to offset the weak teaching standard in schools. I am not about to imply that these problems are insignificant; in fact they should be referred to the experts to resolve them. The second camp looks at the core of the educational process, exposing the terrifyingly inferior curriculum design, the feeble awareness instilled in pupils, and the sub-standard quality of teachers. This last especially poses a huge problem, since it is the teacher who manages the educational process, whets students’ appetites for knowledge, promotes their respect for ‘other’ views, and stimulates their critical thinking. Sadly, all this goes missing in our national education, in favour of the rigid rote learning system in which critical thinking is viewed as a waste of time and a rebellion against the norm. Then we wonder that the end product is nothing but a host of uninformed, uncreative young people, and a barren scientific research system.
The worst of the dilemma, however, is that religion now constitutes a basic element in the curriculum. It is squeezed into every nook and cranny in syllabuses, whether those of science, culture, values, ethics, or even in sports and entertainment activities. The persistence in focusing on the religious and the superstitious is not understood nor is it justified, and it ends up dominating the minds of students.
It may have helped ever so little had these religious concepts covered the different religions of the students in the class. But it is disastrous that Islam alone is used as a religious reference that colours everything in life whether or not it actually pertains to religion. The outcome is a deplorable exclusion and marginalisation of the ‘other’ instead of including that ‘other’ through broader citizenship concepts.
And lest anyone accuses me of the by-now-famous clichés of ‘fanaticism’, ‘jeopardising national unity’, or ‘disturbing social peace’, which only serves to help us bury our heads in the sand and maintains the problem on hold, I invite the sceptics to read the extensive research printed by Watani in five episodes on: “Religious fundamentalism and the Talibanisation of Egyptian education”. The work of Adel Guindy, it delves into the Arabic Language curricula of the primary and preparatory classes, proving beyond doubt that the minds of Egyptian children are endangered. They are being infected with religious hallucinatory attitudes, mono-dimensional thinking, exclusion of the ‘other’, and termination of citizenship concepts. The natural capabilities of children are being abducted in favour of religious dominion.
Since I seriously doubt that this grave matter featured on any of the 97 interpellations in Parliament, I present it to the Education Minister as question no. 98. Together with the Prime Minister, they are both required to work hard to stop this trifling with the minds of those who hold the future of this country in their hands.

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