Education Reform Program - Egypt
With the adoption of Education for All, the Government of Egypt has been successful in achieving almost universal primary school enrollments. Yet closer inspection shows that school enrolment levels drop to 84% for boys and 75% for girls as children move onto preparatory school. A major barrier to retaining children in school is educational quality. Classroom instruction does not provide Egyptian children with the knowledge they need to become productive participants in society. In fact, many students graduate primary school without basic literacy and numeracy skills – only 68% of the men and 47% of the women can read and write.
Girls are at special risk of dropping out. In Egypt, girls are responsible for vital household duties – babysitting sibling, preparing meals, and collecting water – all of which translate to time away from school and homework. When in school, biased teacher practices that favor boys coupled with overcrowded classrooms and lack of suitable bathrooms discourage girls from remaining in school.
With funding from USAID, AIR is implementing the Education Reform Program (ERP), an ambitious 5-year project that works in seven governorates from Aswan to Alexandria. ERP undertakes a wide-array of activities such as literacy classes, awareness campaigns, school construction, school management, and teacher professional development in support of providing quality education to the people of Egypt.
ERP’s Community Managed Girls’ Scholarship Program tackles the gender-specific economic, social and educational barriers that prevent girls from receiving a quality education. Through the Community Managed Scholarship Program, ERP seeks to build a sustainable environment that actively encourages girls to enroll and stay in school. Specifically, ERP is:
- Paying tuition fees and purchasing school uniforms and supplies needed to attend school
- Securing official birth certificates for school enrollment
- Linking health with education to provide students with eyeglasses and hearing aids
- Providing safe transportation to and from school
- Establishing remedial literacy classes to prepare girls for classroom participation
- Working with school teacher and administrators to build girl-friendly environments
- Supporting tutoring and Big Sister Programs to give girls a safe place to study outside of the classroom.
Through these activities, girls are given an opportunity to learn, an opportunity that benefits not only the girls but their families and local communities. As one father states, “At first I was not convinced of the value of education but when my daughter received the scholarship and went to school, I saw changes in her attitude. Then I realized how important and useful education can be.”
By project’s end, ERP will disburse 120,000 scholarships. To sustain positive views on girls’ education, ERP is empowering and building the capacity of local NGOs, Community Development Associations, and Board of Trustees to continue activities past project completion. During the 2006-2007 school year, ERP’s Scholarship Program has:
- Disbursed 33,000 scholarships to girls and a small percentage of boys.
- Worked with 250 schools and Board of Trustees to plan and manage school-based activities in support of girls’ education.
- Established 68 Scholarship Committees that have planned and managed hundreds of community based activities to encourage girls’ education.
AIR is implementing ERP under USAID’s EQUIP1 mechanism with the Education Development Center and World Education.