Hassan Al-Masry - Cairo

Sahar is an Egyptian girl who graduated from the College of Education, hoping to work as a teacher, and after being exhausted by the research, she found her way in the announcement of the Ministry of Education about a competition to appoint new teachers to fill the deficit, but after months her and her colleagues became frustrated, as the Ministry announced the dispensation of those admitted to the competition, and contracting With volunteers, only twenty pounds per share (the dollar is about 15.5 pounds).

The story started in 2018, when Sahar read an advertisement for a competition for the Ministry of Education, with the aim of employing 36,000 teachers from graduates of colleges of education, as part of a plan to bridge the shortage of teachers in Egyptian schools.

Sahar says to Al Jazeera Net, "I applied as thousands of young people applied to the work competition, an Arabic language school in the hope of success, and it was not easy because of the routine. In the end, the effort went to waste and our dreams were dissipated, when the ministry announced that we would be dispensed as accepted in the competition, after one semester, where Our work ended at the end of May last year. "

Magic is like thousands of dreams shattered on the rock of chaos of the Ministry of Education competitions, as the Ministry announced on March 2 the use of volunteers from the educational qualifications campaign, as volunteers for a price not exceeding twenty pounds per share, with the aim of filling the shortage in the numbers of teachers.

The Ministry announced a competition to employ 120,000 teachers on temporary contracts as well, despite the teachers ’demands for renewal for them, which the Ministry rejected under the pretext of violating the terms of the contract, stressing that they would have priority in the event they applied for the 120 thousand teachers, which sparked a state of anger among the teachers, Especially since the teachers of the first competition were fired after only three months.

What can be described as the chaos of contracts within the Egyptian Ministry of Education prompted Parliament Member Haitham Hariri to submit a request to brief the minister on the issue, stressing that the ministry obtained 120 million pounds from about six hundred thousand teachers who paid for the application forms, adding, "Despite the ministry's need for new teachers who were dispensed with And to announce a new contest. "

Another teacher, Hamdiya, who applied for the education competition in 2018, confirms that she went through difficult tests in order to pass the recruitment exams, and she did not incur money spending only on the application form for the competition, but the test headquarters were away from her home about two hours, as well as severe crowding and psychological pressure, in search of a bite Halal live.

Despite its success, the ministry abandoned it on the pretext of expiring the contract, after only three months, and despite the ministry's need for new teachers, where its dreams and tens of thousands of young people were shattered, after they thought they had started their real journey in practical life, according to her talk to Al Jazeera Net.

Volunteering is not a solution

According to the statement of the Ministry of Education issued on the request of volunteers, it is not permissible for contractors to claim appointment, and the administrative authority may dispense with them at any time without claiming any compensation.

The educational expert, Kamal Magith, believes that volunteering for teaching is not a solution to the problem of teacher shortage, considering that relying on new teachers with the volunteer system is an injustice to graduates of colleges of education.

In his talk to Al-Jazeera Net, Magith explained that the contracting teachers will undoubtedly search for better opportunities than the ministry provides, especially as the appointment is temporary and for a small fee.

The expert pointed out that one of the worst things that education suffers from is the poor conditions of schools and teachers. The teacher needs to improve his financial conditions because of the weak fees he receives, according to the Minister of Education, and this may justify the teachers ’direction for private lessons.

The number of teachers in Egypt is estimated at 1.187 million teachers, while the number of students is 22 million, or about one teacher for every twenty students, according to TV statements to the Minister of Education Tariq Shawky.

According to previous statements by the Minister of Education, the deficit in the number of teachers is estimated at 320,000, indicating the tendency of teachers to work in administrative jobs and leave the teaching profession, stressing that the crisis has ancient roots related to administrative corruption.