Egypt currently boasts more than 14 public and 4 private universities. Despite the high attrition rates amongst secondary students, enrolment numbers remain high.
Egyptian universities teach some subjects in Arabic and others in English. Humanities, education, law, economics and other such disciplines are usually taught in Arabic. Subjects in medicine, pharmacy, dental medicine and engineering are usually taught in English.
The American University in Cairo (AUC), one of the country’s most highly-regarded institutions, teaches all of its courses in English. For this reason, and its academic quality, it is generally the university of choice for foreign students studying abroad in Egypt.
In a move to allow poorer, qualified students access to education, in the mid-1990s some universities began allowing secondary school graduates to study as “external students.” These students were not allowed to attend university courses, but could still take exams and earn degrees. The result was what amounted to a black market in class notes and lecture recordings.
Due to the developing nature of the Egyptian economy and the lopsided unemployment statistic, the Ministry of Education has made technical and vocational education a high priority. It launched the Center for Educational Technology in the early 1990s in order to prepare students for work in information technology (IT) and related careers fields. The Ministry is also working to develop online course regimens and rural education centres that will provide poorer students with access to education.
In most areas, this is remedial literacy. It is spearheaded by the General Agency for the Eradication of Illiteracy and Adult Education, which has established rural welfare centres focused on educating illiterate adults and developed programs that train unemployed university graduates to teach literacy. In cooperation with both UNESCO and UNICEF, the agency also provides courses for illiterate Egyptians with special needs.