Egyptian school curriculums dictated by ruling powers

Source:
Al-Monitor
Date of source:
2 Jan 2014
Reference:
Confusion reigned over the educational process in Egypt following the
spread of the country’s political crises to education curriculums, which
were amended, with material added or removed as the prevailing
political changes dictated. In this regard, the Egyptian Ministry of
Education announced that curriculums had been completely purged of
the amendments imposed by the Muslim Brotherhood when it took
power.
At the same time that the Ministry of Education announced the
rescindment of amendments forced by the Brotherhood  (http://www.almonitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/brotherhood-egypt-islam...)  on   the   curriculums,   it   also   implemented   changes   to
the curriculums at the beginning of the school year, when it removed a
course titled "The Difference Between a Revolution and a Coup" from
the curriculum of high school seniors. It further put a stop to the printing
of their psychology and sociology textbook, which contained references
to this long-taught distinction between revolutions and coups, and
included long-winded phrases and sentences that spoke of the
differences between popular revolutions and military coups.
Amendments to school curriculums also involved reprinting the high
school-level National Education textbook, when it was found to include
pictures of Muslim Brotherhood figures such as Saad el-Katatni and
Osama Yassin, as well as pictures of Ayman Nour. Another subject
dropped from the curriculum (http://maktoob.news.yahoo.com/%D8%A8
%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3
%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%AA%D9%83%D8%B4
%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B1-%D9%88%D9%82
%D9%81-%D8%B7%D8%A8%D8%B9-%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A7
%D8%A8-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85-021100046.html)  was   the   one
pertaining to the opinions on legitimacy, intended to be included in the Minister of Education Mahmoud Abou el-Nasr (http://www1.youm7.com
/News.asp?NewsID=1251667#.UsE3O9IW15o)  confirmed   that   the
psychology and National Education textbooks of high school seniors
contained grave errors and were not suitable for use in schools. The
National Education textbook was discarded and reprinted because it
covered the subject of backing legitimacy. The minister also described
the psychology textbook as a joke, affirming that its back cover showed
the yellow four-fingered sign typically raised by Brotherhood members. 
In this regard, education expert Kamal Moughit told  Al-Monitor,   "It   is
within the Ministry of Education’s authority to delete some phrases that
it deemed inappropriate and which served to glorify the Brotherhood
simply because it attained power." He pointed out that there were
flagrant additions to the humanities curriculum, such as an allusion to
the concept of "dhimmis"  [under   Sharia,  dhimmi, or protected status,
was originally afforded to Jews, Christians and Sabians] to describe the
Copts, despite that this concept was stricken from Egyptian curriculum
in 1856. Furthermore, Muslim Brotherhood symbols were mentioned in
the textbooks, to the point where the "Rabia (http://www.al-monitor.com
/pulse/politics/2013/08/pro-morsi-protests-thrive.html)"   (four-fingered)
salute was printed on one of them. These additions came about as a
result of the 1 million yearly textbooks that were printed, at a cost of 2
billion Egyptian pounds (about $287.8 million), in dozens of private
presses and publishing houses, one of which was owned by the Brotherhood, necessitating that the ministry reprint them all, according
to Moughit.
Concerning the problem of the connection between school curriculums
and politics in Egypt, Moughit said, "Yes, there always has been
intervention by Egyptian ruling regimes to politicize material covered in
school and promote their ideals. As a result of the educational system’s
state sponsorship, which began at its inception during the reign of
Mohammad Ali Basha. Despite the changes in educational systems and
the prevalence of private education, the Ministry of Education continues
to be the sole decider when it comes to the educational curriculum of
private schools and is the body responsible for ultimately granting
diplomas associated with this curriculum."
Moughit expounded to say that a look at Egyptian educational
curriculums revealed that they, from 1917 until 1936, during the reign of
King Ahmad Fuad, continued to extol the virtues of Khedive Tawfiq, who
served colonial powers. In fact, school curriculums continued, even after the July revolution of 1952, to reflect the political ideals of the
ruling regimes. They were also used to attack the era that preceded the
July revolution and draw parallels between leaders such as Saad
Zaghloul and others like Mustafa Nahhas and colonial puppets. Late
Egyptian President Mohammad Naguib all but disappeared from history
books, which erroneously stated that Gamal Abdel Nasser was the first
president after the July revolution. These curriculums, during Sadat’s
reign, also did away with the legitimacy of the revolution, which was
replaced with that of the October War victory. Mubarak’s era further
reduced the October War into the single event of the "air battle" [of
Mansoura]. The same approach continues to this day, as schools are
transformed into mere institutions tasked with ideological mobilization
for the benefit of the ruling regimes.
To preclude the fighting of political battles through educational
curriculums, Moughit asked the  Constitutional Committee
intervention. According to him, the text that he proposed stated:
"Educational institutions are national institutions whose aim is to
strengthen national cohesion and the sense of national belonging. It's
therefore prohibited to use them for ethnic, political or religious
propaganda purposes."
Egyptian curriculum changes every time a new regime ascends to rule
the country. As a result, it has become necessary to adopt an impartial
mechanism and overall stance leading to a unified ideology in the
implementation of curriculum for the study of humanities. Meanwhile,
one must take into account scientific curriculums, such as biology and
physics, which no longer are in tune with the age and do not reflect the
scientific developments that have and continue to occur throughout the
world.