Egyptian-American scientist Ahmed Zewail proposed a strategy for improving Egypt’s education system at a lecture he gave on Sunday, titled "Education in the Present and the Future." The lecture was given as part of the Zewail Annual Cultural Salon, held at the Cairo Opera House.
Zewail, who acts as adviser to US President Barack Obama on Science and Technology in the Middle East, laid out a strategy based on five points: eliminating illiteracy, expanding the education budget, transforming teaching techniques, training teachers in modern technology, and involving civil society in the financing of government universities.
Raising the salaries of teachers should help limit the phenomenon of private tutoring, which costs Egyptian families between LE10 to LE15 billion, said Zewail. Teachers should also master their subjects, he added.
The US advisor highlighted the importance of changing current teaching techniques, which he said are based on spoon-feeding. At the same time Zewail called for school curricula to be updated–these have remained the same for years. Zewail added that students must learn to depend on scientific facts and use critical thinking, and that teaching should involve interactive participation.
Zewail said teachers should attend computer training courses and have their performance evaluated periodically.
As for university education, Zewail recommended replacing the current university admissions system, which relies primarily on numbers. He said that a faculty of science, for example, should not be forced to accept 1500 students when it only has the capacity to accept 500 students.
Zewail also said university professors should be given the respect and appreciation they deserve. University campuses should be places that nurture science, culture and thought, and not be used as a stage for political and partisan disputes.
Zewial urged civil society and non-governmental organizations to share in financing universities to help the system of free education to survive, since government money is not enough.
"If some parents are capable of paying US$15,000–the equivalent of LE80,000-LE90,000–to enrol their children in the American University, why don’t they pay a mere US$2000 to finance an Egyptian public university?" he asked
On the topic of scientific research, Zewail said that the only means to achieve progress would be through a national project to build a genuine scientific base, creating specialized sections at academies and schools, increasing scholarships, and providing researchers returning from abroad with opportunities to conduct scientific research in Egypt.
Zewail said scientific research should be a source of national income, as is the case with several advanced countries, adding that Egypt should not rely solely on economic resources such as the Suez Canal for income.
Zewail divided the world according to political geography, saying that there were nations concerned about their futures, such as Europeans and Americans; nations confident about their futures, such as Asians; and nations that suffer from a a lack of confidence, such as the Arab countries. He expressed his belief that Egypt could shape its future differently, despite all the difficulties facing education and scientific research.
Zewail labeled as a defect in the Egyptian education system the limited amount of scientific content in the media, pointing out that music TV channels far outnumber scientific channels.
Zewail also criticized what he termed "intellectual terrorism and stagnation," which he says have replaced genuine religious principles. He also expressed disappointment regarding the decline of the Arabic language and Arab culture in favor of other languages and cultures.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
