Minister of Education Tarek Shawki has denied Al-Jazeera channel’s accusations of mistakes in Egypt’s new first grade Arabic curriculum.
Shawki took to Facebook and explained that the “mistakes” Al-Jazeera pointed out were intentional, writing that, “I read what a lot of people have been saying about the new books, as well as what Al-Jazeera channel circulated in order to insult Egypt. I would like to explain that these pages are not faulty. This is a small children’s poem, and how to use it is explained in the teacher’s guide.”
He added that the aim of these poems was to educate through group singing.
Shawki’s statements follow after Al-Jazeera published several pages of Egypt’s new curriculum, showing several lines repeated on one page.
The minister said that “this is not a mistake but intentionally made, and the words will be musically composed in order for the kids to sing it.” He added that the four sing-songs are: “Water,” “Living beings”, “The year’s seasons” and “Movements.”
