The Minister of Planning and Economic Development participates in the celebration of the launch of the International Applied Technology Schools

Egypt’s Minister of Planning & Economic Development, Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, participated in the celebration of the launch of the International Schools of Applied Technology, in the presence of Dr. Tarek Shawky, Minister of Education and Technical Education.
The celebration also witnessed the participation of the Ministers of International Cooperation, the Business Sector, Trade, and Industry, and the Ambassador of the United States of America.
El-Said pointed out that the issue of education is one of the most important development issues that are of concern to governments and peoples and shape the features of the future, explaining that education is the cornerstone of any efforts required to achieve comprehensive sustainable development.El-Said added that the interest in education comes as a top priority for the Egyptian state, in light of a general and comprehensive trend set by the government, under the guidance and assignment of the President of the Republic, to expand investment in people, and achieve the strategic goal of building the Egyptian person.On the importance of technical education in light of global developments in the field of technology and the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, El-Said explained that technical education is the mainstay for preparing manpower and providing the necessary skilled labor to serve economic and social development plans and programs.El-Said pointed out the importance that technical education enjoys at present in light of contemporary global developments and challenges, and the dominance of the knowledge society, which has begun to offer new forms of work and requires atypical specializations that are not provided by higher education.


El-Said added that the world is currently witnessing a wave of technological progress, which is described as a new revolution and is called the fourth industrial revolution. El-Said pointed out that this revolution is characterized by accelerated innovation and the adoption of advanced technologies, as it represents a mixture of advances in artificial intelligence, digital platforms, robotics, and automation.El-Said explained that this global reality, in addition to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, imposes many requirements and challenges that directly and indirectly affect the issue of education around the world, as well as the future of the labor market. El-Said added that this requires rearranging development priorities to focus on directing the potential of young human resources to fit with the requirements of the times and achieve flexibility in the labor market.That is through restructuring education and training systems to prepare and equip students with the expansion of establishing schools of applied technology.Concerning the development of technical education and training within the framework of the structural reforms program, El-Said stressed that the structural reforms program includes the main axis aimed at raising the efficiency and flexibility of the labor market and developing the technical education and vocational training system. El-Said added that this comes with activating the role of the private sector in this field, achieving compatibility between the supply and demand sides in the labor market, and supporting the empowerment of women, youth, and people with special skills.
El-Said added that within the framework of the implementation of the program, some procedures were identified, which are being followed up in coordination with the Ministry of Education, Technical Education, and other concerned parties. El-Said explained that these procedures included the establishment of the Egyptian National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Technical, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Itqan), with the transformation of all study programs into programs built according to the professional competency methodology and the updating of new specializations that correspond to the development of businesses and jobs.El-Said continued to talk about the procedures, noting that the number of those enrolled in technical education from the preparatory stage would be raised to 70% instead of the current 55%, while setting standards for the vocational training system in cooperation with the beneficiaries, industrial, commercial, agricultural and hotel, through the establishment of sectorial skills councils to set standards professional for each sector.


El-Said also referred to the establishment of sectoral competency centers in selected schools of applied technology in cooperation with the private sector as one of the procedures, and the development of the infrastructure for technical education schools and increasing their number in line with the industrial zones and national projects that are currently being implemented to provide the requirements for implementing programs built according to the merit system.El-Said explained that this will result in the provision of a distinguished educational environment for practical training to achieve the students' acquisition of the technical competencies required in the labor market.El-Said confirmed that the state is working to expand the establishment of technical schools and universities, explaining that the number of applied technology schools has been increased from 11 to 16 schools in all governorates of the Republic, and the establishment and operation of three technological universities represented in New Cairo University, Delta in Quesna, and Beni Suef. El-Said added that the plan for this year 21/2022 aims to establish 6 new technological universities in El Salam City in East Port Said, 6th of October, Borg El Arab, New Assiut, Samanoud in Gharbia, Taiba in New Luxor, at an estimated cost of EGP 3 billion.On the importance of the partnership between the state and the private sector in the field of education, El-Said pointed out that what is currently taking place is an actual translation of the participatory approach adopted by the state and stresses the importance of close cooperation between all concerned parties, which includes the government, the private sector, and civil society organizations.El-Said added that this is done through diversifying the sources of funding and the mechanisms that support the sustainability of the development of the educational process, especially in light of the limited resources available.El-Said also confirmed the ambition to expand this pioneering experience by establishing more applied technology schools in all governorates of Egypt, which comes in light of the Egyptian government's efforts to localize sustainable development to achieve balanced regional development.

The Sovereign Fund of EgyptEl-Said also touched on the role of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE), which works on some initiatives in the field of technical education through partnerships with the private sector.