Egyptian mothers are in trouble .. distance education without a clear plan

Farida Ahmed

A state of confusion dominated Egyptian mothers after the Minister of Education decided to cancel the second semester exams.

At first glance, the majority of mothers felt comfortable with the decision, but after reading its details, opinions were divided between supporters and opponents and feared about the fate of the sons in the certificates, especially with the suspension of private lessons and the closure of their positions, and the reliance on the electronic system and mothers by custom.

Cancellation of exams and completion of study
Last Thursday, the Egyptian Minister of Education, Tariq Shawky, announced that the exams in the transfer years (from the third primary to the second preparatory grade) would be replaced by a research project linked to all the curricula of the second semester, which is a condition for success to the next year.

As for the kindergarten and first and second grades, the teachers of these students will prepare reports on their performance, and for the first and second grades, they will perform the tests electronically next April from home.

As for general certificates and technical diplomas, exams are held for the end of the current academic year for them in a timely manner, taking all precautions and measures necessary to protect students in committees in cooperation with the various state agencies.

The Ministry announced the provision of an electronic library next to the Egyptian Knowledge Bank (EKB) to help students study various curricula for grades starting from kindergarten through high school in both Arabic and English.

In addition to providing an electronic platform for communication between students and teachers during the coming period, approximately 22 million students distributed over 55 thousand schools will communicate with their teachers.

The testimonies are immunized against Corona
Nevin Mohamed - who is the mother of two female students, one in high school and the other in the third preparatory grade - says that the situation is more difficult because her two daughters are testimonials and will take exams in ordinary committees, asking, "Why does the same system not apply to them and take the exams from home under the current conditions or have they have immunity? Corona virus? "

And with private tutoring centers and private teachers refraining from going home, Nevin is very disappointed, saying, "I don't know how to complete the remaining parts of the curriculum. The Ministry's electronic library and knowledge bank does not cover the entire curriculum, and there are complete materials that do not exist like physics for the third grade of secondary school." , Never exist. "

Nevin turns to YouTube and watched some lessons that the teachers are explaining and trying to explain to her two daughters, saying that "the last parts do not exist, and I do not know why if the minister is determined to take exams, then when he did not cancel the rest of the curriculum that was not explained and suffice with what was already explained because we are in emergency circumstances ".

Manal Hussein, who is the mother of a child in the second grade of primary school, believes that the minister’s decision to cancel the exams is the best decision he took since he assumed the ministry, saying, “I am a mother who plays my role and continues studying with my son, but it is unfair to turn to a school that explains new curricula for children, not all Mothers are eligible, and we are in an exceptional circumstance. It is not the end of the world that exams are canceled, the health of our children is more important. "

Find a parent job
This is how the situation appears in the elementary grades, but some mothers have not completed their joy, says Iman Saleh, who is the mother of two girls, one in the third primary and the other in the fifth primary.

She adds that she was satisfied with the decision to cancel the exams and stopped following lessons with her two daughters, but what worries her is the school research in each subject, which is a set of questions that the student answers and presents in the form of research, through the electronic platform provided by the ministry, then presented On the platform.

Under the minister’s decision, a group of students can participate in one research, with a maximum of 5 students per research, under the supervision of the class teacher.

But Iman sees that there is no benefit to research and children will not benefit from it in anything, saying, "I think that it is merely disturbing the mothers because most of the mothers will write the research, or will purchase it from any library and put names on it only, the explanation online is very difficult and difficult to interact with, and the mother is That will bear everything. "

The Internet ... the biggest challenge
As for Rabab Bakhit - the mother of a fourth-grade child - she sees that this decision is very good, explaining that "the new education system relies heavily on the electronic system, and this is a good opportunity for training, especially since it is without exams."

And on the research project for each subject, Rabab says, "My daughter went back to study alone, and this is a good opportunity to get her used to writing research on her own as well, I can only help her, but the bulk of the effort is what she will do, especially since the curricula are mostly cumulative, and every academic year It depends on what precedes it, and it is necessary to finish the curriculum parts that you did not finish at school. "

But Rabab finds the real challenge in the internet, explaining, "We suffer from the Internet and its irregularity, especially with extreme pressure these days. Here, the Ministry of Communications must intervene and provide a high-speed" Internet "with a guarantee that it will not be interrupted, whether for students studying curricula and writing research, or Students of the first and second grades who will take exams from home, or even international education students who rely on the Internet for studying and taking exams. "

The Internet, research and examinations, the decisions of the Ministry of Education in the face of Corona urgently, borne by Egyptian mothers with more pressure and confusion to turn into teachers and researchers, in addition to their primary role, which has become more stressful in this critical period the entire world is going through.