The Ministers of Planning, Economic Development, and Higher Education discuss the investment plan for the fiscal year 2022/2023
06 March 2022
Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, held a meeting with Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research; to discuss the ministry's investment plan for the fiscal year 2022/2023.The meeting took place in the presence of Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Jamil Helmy, Assistant Minister for Follow-up Affairs of the Sustainable Development Plan, Dr. Ayman Ashour, Deputy Minister for University Affairs, Dr. Yasser Refaat, Deputy Minister for Scientific Research, Ayman Soliman, and Executive Director of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt(TSFE).During the meeting, Dr. Hala El-Said pointed to the economic importance of education, explaining that it represents the main entry point for human resource development of societies, to keep pace with the developments of the times, the requirements of the transition to a knowledge economy, and to enhance international competitiveness in various fields.El-Said emphasized the countries' interest in highlighting the role of education in their development plans to build society and support its economic capabilities, and to put it on their list of priorities when allocating resources and implementing programs and projects. She emphasized that believing in the importance of education in building the human being and upgrading the society culturally, scientifically, and behaviorally, the successive development plans pay attention to building the Egyptian personality, by upgrading the educational system, improving the quality of the educational system, and raising the efficiency, merit, and competitiveness of its outputs.El-Said explained that despite the repercussions of the Coronavirus pandemic on the performance of the national economy in 2020, the education sector’s march witnessed a qualitative leap, as the government intensified its efforts during the pandemic period to develop the educational process according to the latest technological methods, taking into account maintaining the health and safety of students. She emphasized that this effort contributed to Egypt's progression of 11 positions in the pre-university education stage in the scientific knowledge index issued by the United Nations Development Program, in addition to its advancement of 23 positions in technical education, as well as for university education and scientific research, as Egypt's position improved globally.
For his part, Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar reviewed the most important achievements in the sectors of higher education and scientific research during the 2021-2022 plan, noting the completion of the establishment of 6 new technological universities, and the project of new private universities with 11 universities in the first phase, as well as the African Space Agency And the start of studies at the New Mansoura University. This is in addition to the start of the university hospital automation project (141 comprehensive hospitals at Al-Azhar University), with the financing of the first phase of the Egyptian Genome Project, and the completion of the components of 3 technological universities in New Cairo, Delta, Quesna, and Beni Suef.Dr. Abdul Ghaffar pointed to the most prominent achievements during the year, explaining the completion of the first phase of automated tests in 73 colleges (colleges of the health sector), the completion of the establishment of the City of Science and Technology at the Electronics Research Institute, the Student House in the University City in Paris, and the establishment of (higher colleges and institutes in public universities).Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar added that it is targeted during the next fiscal year 2022/2023 to rehabilitate the National French University in Egypt in partnership between the Egyptian and French governments.It is also intended to complete the phases of the mechanized testing project (Japanese University), establish the headquarters of the African Space Agency, as well as equip 6 new technological universities, the new Oncology Institute project in Sheikh Zayed City, and modernize and develop the National Cancer Institute.