Political Economy Country Brief - Digitalizing, Deskilling, and Edu 2.0: The Politics of the New Education Reform in

Education was viewed as a means to transform the social order along more equitable lines and to lead the country and region to a position of economic and political strength.2 Relying on the support of the poor and growing middle classes in the Nasser era 2 entailed a social policy investment and direction focused on the expansion of free public services. [...] The Sadat era (1970–81) brought about three key developments in Egyptian educational discourse: the focus on “science and faith” as the basis of Egypt’s progress and desired identity, the beginning of the involvement of international agencies in educational policymaking, and the initiation of privatization measures. [...] The relationship with the forces of political Islam is at the core of political settlement and the dynamics in the education sector. [...] In explaining the development and implementation of the new education policies, most respondents highlighted the absence of equity considerations and limited attention to the conditions of more disadvantaged schools at the core of the learning crisis. [...] 57 Private schools remain a small part of the system, but their importance lies in schooling the intellectual, economic, and political elite, especially in language schools and international schools, and the influence of the concerns of the country’s more affluent classes on educational policymaking.