July 23, 2019 

After two years of continuous study, the outstanding student Mennatallah Muhammad finally achieved a score of 97 per cent, but she still will not be able to enter the college she was dreaming of. 

Menna’s mother explains that her daughter will not be able to join the first stage of coordinating universities, especially medical college. 

The Ministry of Education in Egypt has announced that the minimum level of the first stage of coordination is 97.07 per cent for the scientific science division.

The final statistics for the high school result indicate a rise in percentages from last year, especially for students of scientific sciences and engineering. 

In Egypt, medical schools of various kinds are called “faculties of the summit,” and parents like them because they often promise a job immediately after graduation, and a decent life.

The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research announced that the first stage of coordination, which includes the higher colleges, is limited to students who have 97.07 per cent for science students, and in the engineering division students who have 95 per cent, and in the literary division, 80 per cent or more.

The number of successful high school students this year reached over 483,000.

The number of first-stage students is more than 143,000, most of them in the literary division.

According to expectations, the lowest marks approved by the medical college will be 98.5 per cent, i.e students who have less than that rate will not be able to enter the college.

The rates and results of students in Egyptian high school have increased significantly over the past years.

While Menna and her friends who get less than 98 per cent will not be able to enter the medical schools at Egyptian public universities, other students with the same or lower marks will be able to enter medical school at private universities.

The sons of the wealthy in Egypt can enter faculties of the summit (medical schools) in private universities, though the cost is high and most Egyptians cannot afford to pay.

Egyptian students complain that private universities that ask for high fees compared to government colleges have practically ended the principle of equal opportunities, but the high costs incurred by Egyptian families for educating their sons are not limited to entry into university.

The suffering of Egyptian families in spending on education starts from the stage of private lessons, in the hope that their children will get high grades.

According to unofficial estimates, Egyptian families spend between EGP 20 billion and EGP 30 billion per year on tutoring. 

The Egyptian Ministry of Education says that it is currently seeking a radical development in Egypt’s education system, as well as implementing an ambitious plan that aims to reform education in the country.