EGYPT: OECD urges sweeping higher education reform

Egypt's higher education system is not serving the country's current needs well, and without far-reaching reform this will hamper economic and social progress, according to a new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Bank.

While recognising reform efforts already made by the Egyptian government, the report recommended particular attention be paid to immediate needs for structural reforms, more flexibility and efficiency in governance and institutional management, and increasing the capacity of the higher education system to deliver relevant education to a broader range of students.

"If not addressed in a timely manner, these challenges will impede the development of Egypt's full potential to serve the needs of the country," said Higher Education in Egypt 2010 , part of the OECD's Reviews of National Policies for Education series.

"The OECD-World Bank review panel commends the government for its considerable efforts. However, in several areas where substantive reform is required, the approach being adopted focuses mainly on procedural changes and it is not evident that commitment exceeds compliance," it added.

The imperative for fundamental reform of Egypt's higher education, the review said, arose from a combination of emerging pressures and accumulated dysfunctions.

Egypt had to improve its competitiveness in a global knowledge-based economy where other countries were intensifying investments in human capital and knowledge production. It also needed to provide "appropriately" for a larger and more diversified student population, and reduce social inequalities arising from differences in educational opportunities.

The review identified the dysfunctions in Egypt's higher education sector as: narrow access and limited opportunities for students; poor quality of educational inputs and processes; deficiencies and imbalances in graduate output relative to job market requirements; and under-developed university research capability for the national innovation system.

It urged Egypt, a country of 80 million people, to take "decisive action" to improve policy coherence, institutional responsiveness and system cost-effectiveness. It specifically stressed the need for action to be directed to:

* Reducing structural rigidities in the higher education system.
* Improving national steering and coordination and widening choices for students.
* Increasing the capacity and flexibility of higher education institutions within a more diversified system.
* Improving the availability of information to guide student choice.
* Financing the system more equitably and efficiently in a sustainable way.

Further, the review panel recommended that Egypt pursued improvement in the quality and effectiveness of primary schooling in order to craft successful reform of higher education.

It cited willingness on the part of the Egyptian government to take further steps towards the devolution of responsibilities and increased use of performance-based funding mechanisms to push forward reform in this field.

"Energy for reform is also evident among a number of Egypt's higher education institutions. And there are community pressures for change, not least from students and employers," said the review, which was financed by Egypt and the World Bank with an in-kind contribution from the European Training Foundation.

The review was conducted following an invitation from the Egyptian government. It was undertaken by the OECD directorate of education's programme for cooperation with non-member economies, in partnership with the World Bank's human development department of the Middle East and North Africa.

Egypt's Minister of Higher Education, Hani Helal, commented that the international experts' appraisal agreed in many areas with strategies devised by the ministry to develop the sector.

Following a meeting to discuss the report's findings, Helal said seeking help from foreign experts did not imply foreign interference in the country's higher education system.

"Efforts will continue to upgrade higher education in order to respond to labour market needs and limit social inequalities in education."

He said the ministry would seek to reduce class differences at Egypt's 18 public universities, especially in commerce and law schools. "There will be more focus on encouraging students to attend technology colleges and below-university polytechnic schools, as well as healthcare institutes in order to qualify students for the labour market," he added.

According to the OECD review, there is a chronic oversupply of university graduates in the humanities and social sciences in Egypt while there are shortages of graduates obtaining further educational and vocational skills.