President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi called Monday for combating cheating at schools and producing new curricula against violence and harassment, said presidential spokesperson Alaa Youssef in a statement Monday.
Sisi’s recommendation came during a meeting with Minister of Education Moheb al-Rafei amid reports of students’ cheating on final exams of Thawayea Amma, standardized high school tests constituting the gateway to universities.
A 2013 United Nations study found that 99.3 percent of Egyptian women have been sexually harassed, either verbally or physically. The plague has triggered several the founding of several women rights organizations, anti-harassment protests as well as new laws to deter perpetrators. Sisi visited a victim of a brutal sexual assault a few days into his presidential term.
Further, Rafei informed Sisi of a plan to build 100 schools by the end of 2015 to reduce overcrowded classrooms, and ideas to counter violence among students and in the society in general, as well as upgrading students’ physical fitness.
A total of 200,000 tablet computers have been distributed among students in rural areas, according to Rafei.
A number of schools allocated to skilled students have been developed to connect with faculties and researches of science and technology, Rafei said, while Sisi ordered that at least one school in every governorate be established, according to the presidential statement.
Rafei added that students with special needs will be enrolled in 3,600 schools nationwide.
