Translated by Ingy Ashraf
As we are obliged to criticize the Ministry of Education for their wrong actions and weird decisions, it’s our duty to praise them when they innovate and develop, considering the great value that this ministry constitutes in the lives of our students.
What the ministry recently included in the primary school curricula caused some debate among supporters and opponents in many sectors. Especially with regard to including the biography of the great artist Samiha Ayoub in the first semester of the curriculum of the “professional skills” subject in the sixth grade of primary school!
The professional skills course, for those who are unaware, discusses successful models in various sectors, such as industry, agriculture, medicine, space, literature, journalism and media, art, economics, and the environment. The goal is to introduce new generations to the achievements of these individuals in their fields and how they have benefited their communities.
Most of the people in Egypt rushed in criticizing the ministry for choosing the Actress Samiha Ayoub, without considering that the subject she is being taught in is “professional skills,” not Arabic language.
Therefore, we should praise the Ministry of Education for its role in re-appraising the importance of art among new generations, but we should also criticize the standards by which one artistic figure was chosen over another to be the example taught to students.
In addition, the Ministry of Education made a wise decision to introduce hieroglyphs, the ancient Egyptian language, in the “Discover” book for the first and third grades of primary school in a simplified and engaging way. This is another success to be credited to the developers of the educational curricula, especially for young students.
The Ministry of Education’s new curriculum is a valuable step forward, as it will reintroduce our humanitarian and historical wealth to the benefit of future generations. The new curriculum is an important step in reforming the outdated and ineffective curricula that have been taught for generations, which have stifled students critical thinking and creativity.
