PM chairs 1st meeting of national council for education, innovation
The meeting was attended by a host of statesmen, including Deputy Premier and Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Deputy PM for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel el Wazir, Defense Minister Abdel Majeed Saqr, Interior Minister Mahmoud Tawfik, Higher Education Minister Ayman Ashour, Education Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif and Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk.
Madbouli stressed the council's role in aligning Egypt's pre-university and higher education systems with global shifts especially as regards the application of artificial intelligence (AI).
He said the meeting tackled current challenges in Egypt's education and innovation landscape.
Ashour outlined progress in seven strategic axes: integration, interdisciplinary specializations, connectivity, active participation, sustainability, international benchmarking, and innovation and entrepreneurship.
Highlighting integration, Ashour discussed aligning academic and research institutions with regional economic activities to bolster national development. He referred to the 'Alliance and Development' presidential initiative, promoting regional partnerships among government entities and industry players.
The minister showcased initiatives linking scientific research with industry, including the electric vehicle rally in New Alamein and the development of low-speed electric vehicles suited to smart cities. Notably, Egypt produced its first EU-certified, domestically-manufactured ventilator. Other efforts include the EV-Tech project for low-speed vehicle technology transfer and a model agricultural tech research farm in Marsa Matrouh.
Ashour emphasized creating programs blending specializations aligned with future job markets and upskilling faculty. Regarding global connectivity, he said 337 joint academic programs are being run with foreign partners across Egyptian universities. He highlighted the 'Egypt Scholarships and Educational Tourism' initiative and efforts to align education with labor market skills through university career centers, which have helped place thousands of graduates.
Ashour underscored the active role of higher education in economic and societal development. He noted university hospitals—125 facilities supported by over 31,000 faculty—serve millions with quality healthcare services and are integral to national health campaigns, including early cancer detection and the 'Decent Life' initiative, which has deployed over 1,000 medical convoys.
He also detailed student engagement initiatives such as '100 Days of Sports,' 'Learn with Health,' and 'Empower,' aimed at health, inclusion, and labor market readiness.
On sustainability, the minister cited the expansion of Egypt's university infrastructure, growing from 50 institutions in 2014 to 116 by 2025. The international benchmarking axis focuses on enhancing global rankings and accreditation for Egyptian institutions, thereby attracting more international students and bolstering overseas campuses.
Ashour discussed fostering a startup ecosystem through TV programming, attracting 20,000 student participants and 976 startup proposals, with EGP 82 million in total funding. He also introduced the National Network for Talents and Innovators.
Ashour announced the launch of the Japanese-style ELKosen colleges in Egypt from September 2025, in collaboration with JICA. The first campus in 10th of Ramadan City will offer five-year programs in robotics, AI, green energy, and microelectronics, modeled on Japan's technological institutes.
Education Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif addressed school overcrowding, noting emergency measures such as dual shifts, space optimization, and six-day school weeks, alongside long-term plans to build up to 15,000 classrooms annually. He claimed student density had dropped below 50 per class, with an average of 38.
To address teacher shortages, he highlighted hiring initiatives, increased pay, and new policies extending teacher service until August 31 of each academic year. These moves reportedly filled over 90% of teaching gaps.
Abdel Latif detailed reforms in secondary education, reducing course loads and introducing a proposed Egyptian Baccalaureate focused on critical thinking and interdisciplinary learning. A nationwide survey of students is currently informing this reform.
Alaa Ashmawy, head of the National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation, outlined progress in raising private institute standards and aligning national qualifications frameworks with international benchmarks.
Established by a presidential decree issued by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, the council reports directly to the president of the Republic with the aim of laying down National Strategy to develop education, scientific research, and innovation, reviewing national priorities in education, research, and innovation across various sectors and improving the educational process. (MENA)
S R E
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Egypt Independent
an hour ago
- Egypt Independent
Why Tesla's Cybertruck has been such a flop
New York CNN — Despite Elon Musk's bold predictions, the Cybertruck is, officially, a flop. Tesla is deliberately opaque about its sales numbers on specific models, so you have to squint to get a sense of just how badly the company's unique pickup truck is performing in the real world. But we definitely have some idea. Here's what we know, based on Tesla's deliveries (a proxy for sales) released this week: The EV maker delivered about 384,000 vehicles in total, world-wide, between April and June this year — a record 13.5 percent decline from a year earlier. Zoom in, and it gets uglier for Tesla. Tesla doesn't break out sales of the Cybertruck, one of its premium models that Musk says was inspired by the dystopian movie 'Blade Runner.' It discloses just two categories — the Model 3 and Y in one category and, in the second, 'other models,' which is almost entirely the company's legacy Model S sedan, the Model X SUV and the Cybertruck. The company said it delivered about 10,400 'other' models in the second quarter, which itself is a huge problem for Tesla. In the same quarter last year, Tesla sold more than 21,500 'other' models. It's hard to think of another word for a 52 percent decline other than a collapse. How many of those 'others' are Cybertrucks, and how many are the Model S or X? That's not entirely clear. But let's look at the first three months of this year. Tesla sold about 12,900 'other' models, of which 7,100 were Cybertrucks, according to registration data from S&P Global Mobility. So a bit more than half. It'd be safe to estimate, then, that Tesla likely sold something in the ballpark of 5,000-6,000 Cybertrucks in the second quarter if consumer trends held steady. It might even be getting marginally outsold by the F-150 Lightning and GM's electric pickups, rivals whose sales are also falling but weren't nearly as hyped as Musk's brainchild. The company didn't respond to a request for comment. But even in a hypothetical world where all of those 10,400 deliveries in the second quarter were Cybertrucks, Tesla would still be massively underperforming the expectations set by Musk, who told investors two years ago that he expected Tesla to be churning out 250,000 a year by 2025. We're halfway through the year, and Tesla has barely hit a fraction of that. Cybertruck sales have faced a number of challenges: Its $80,000-$100,000 price tag. The imminent erasure of EV tax credits. Its oddball design. Repeated recalls, including one for an exterior steel panel falling off while the truck is moving. The roughly 200-mile real-world range reported by owners, rather than the 500-mile range that was initially promised. The lack of the initially-promised range extender, which quietly disappeared. The vehicle's intractable affiliation with the world's wealthiest wannabe-oligarch. The 7,000-pound car has become a symbol of the MAGA right wing and a target of vandalism. Will the Cybertruck's shortcomings sink Tesla? Probably not. But the stumble has become a reflection of the company's broader turmoil. The electric truck faces serious competition from the likes of Rivian, Ford and GM. Chinese rivals are eating into Tesla's market share in key markets overseas, particularly Europe and China. Tesla is on the verge of losing its title as the world's largest EV maker by annual sales to Chinese automaker BYD. This week, BYD — which isn't allowed in the US market — reported 1 million electric vehicles sold in the first half of this year, putting it far ahead of Tesla's year-to-date total of about 721,000. The Tesla faithful on Wall Street are still all-in on Musk, whom they see as a visionary and, perhaps more to the point, a showman who has made them rich. Tesla's stock (TSLA) is down about 17 percent this year, but it's up nearly 300 percent over the last five years. For the ride-or-die bulls, it may not matter that Musk's MAGA turn has clobbered the company's core business of selling cars because he has convinced them that Tesla's future lies in an AI-powered, driverless utopia. And it's Musk's history of promises that have driven that meteoric share price increase, and, accordingly, Musk's personal wealth. But Musk's promises and predictions routinely come up short. His Cybertruck is only the latest example. This story has been updated from the version that was published in the Nightcap newsletter with additional context.
Middle East
3 hours ago
- Middle East
OPEN// Sisi asserts Egypt's firm support for Libya
CAIRO, July 5 (MENA) - President Abdel Fattah El Sisi asserted Egypt's support for Libya and its national institutions, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding Libya's sovereignty and territorial integrity. He stressed the need for unified efforts to reach a comprehensive political settlement to the Libyan crisis, one that would pave the way for simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible, thus fulfilling the aspirations of the Libyan people for stability, security and a dignified life. Sisi's remarks came during his meeting on Saturday with Aguila Saleh, Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives. Presidential Spokesman Mohamed el Shennawy stated that the discussions focused on the latest developments in Libya. Sisi asserted Egypt's commitment to continuing its efforts and coordination with all Libyan brethren and international partners, based on Egypt's belief in the importance of achieving stability in Libya, he said. He underscored that Libya's political and security stability is intrinsically linked to Egypt's own national security, he added. Sisi also highlighted the importance of the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Libya, as a step toward enhancing national security and enabling Libyan institutions to fully perform their roles in realizing stability across the country, said the spokesman. He reiterated Egypt's interest in participating in Libya's reconstruction and in sharing Egyptian development expertise to support Libya's path toward recovery, he said. Meanwhile, Saleh expressed deep appreciation for the historical and fraternal ties between Egypt and Libya as well as for Sisi's role and Egypt's efforts in supporting Libya's unity and institutional cohesion, the spokesman said. Saleh asserted that Egypt's support is a key pillar for restoring security and stability in Libya and facilitating the transitional phase in order to finally hold the upcoming elections, he said. (MENA) M H K/M N E
Al-Ahram Weekly
3 hours ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Egyptian Journalists Syndicate condemns TV interview with Yair Lapid - Foreign Affairs
Khaled El-Balshy, president of Egypt's Journalists Syndicate, has denounced a recent televised interview between Egyptian TV presenter Emad El-Din Adeeb and former Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid, calling it a 'professional and humanitarian crime'. In a statement released on Friday, El-Balshy accused Adeeb of giving a platform to justify the 'war crimes perpetrated by the Israeli occupation army'. The interview with Lapid, who currently leads the opposition in Israel, aired on Thursday via Sky News Arabia from the United Arab Emirates. El-Balshy reaffirmed the syndicate's longstanding opposition to all forms of normalization with Israel, referring to a 1981 decision by its general assembly that opposes engagement with Israeli officials on professional, union-related, or personal levels. He noted that Adeeb was expelled from the syndicate in September 2020 following a disciplinary committee ruling over his dismissal of dozens of journalists from the now-defunct Al-Alam Al-Youm newspaper. Had Adeeb still been a member, El-Balshy said, disciplinary action would have been taken in response to the interview. He also urged journalists to adhere to the syndicate's anti-normalization stance, warning that any current member who violates it would face immediate internal investigation. The interview prompted widespread criticism on social media, with commentators accusing Adeeb of failing to challenge Lapid's falsehoods and of promoting normalization with Israel. Some critics said the broadcast could serve as a cautionary example in journalism schools. Veteran investigative journalist Yousri Fouda also criticized the interview. While acknowledging that journalists have a duty to seek truth from all sources — including adversaries — he questioned the editorial judgment behind the broadcast. 'The problem arises when you cannot answer these questions: Why this interview? Why now? And for what purpose?' he said. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
