The Power of Persistence: Education System ... - EQUIP123.net

This study portrays Egyptian education reform process in relative isolation
from other international and global developments, which was not the case. For
instance, the evolving form of Egypt’s relations with Israel has had a significant
impact on the environment, and opportunities, for reforms. President Mubarak’s
administration began approximately two years after the Camp David peace accord
between Israel and Egypt, which brought to a close hostilities initiated with the
war in 1973. As with previous wars with Israel (e.g., 1948, 1954, and 1967), the
1973 war took a toll of human life but also negatively impacted Egypt’s economic
situation, reducing funds available to increase access to and quality of education.
While the peace accord created significant new flows of international development
agency support, it also added fuel to the conflict between the Egyptian government
and Islamist militant groups. Similarly, Egypt’s key political role in support of the
U.S.-led war on Iraq in 1991 led to Egypt receiving debt forgiveness and financial
aid from international organizations as well as to a heightening of conflict between
the Egyptian government and Islamist militants groups.
CONCLUSION
The education challenges in Egypt are significant by any measure and are
made substantially more difficult to overcome by the static political and
bureaucratic structures.
The country’s overall policy structure is complex and highly bureaucratic, and
historically centralized. Interlocking policies and strong interest groups make
it difficult to create the political space for substantive reforms. The conditions
enabling the reform agenda to move forward included both the elimination of
key constraints (especially the fear of Islamic militants) and the increasing
pressure from civil society and the NDP for better quality education.
The lessons drawn from the Egypt experience are useful for understanding
both the potential benefits of and the limits of donor assistance. In the 1990s,
the successful interventions at the school level by UNICEF and USAID did not
serve as a catalyst for broader decentralization reforms because those reforms
ran counter to the prevailing political and leadership forces. However, the
work provided a base of experience and information that was applied when
the “space” for reform opened up. USAID’s Alexandria project provided the
opportunity for piloting aspects of system reform at the governorate level, and
created some political confidence in the process. This pilot was possible because
of the relationship of trust between the Minister and the Governor. Converting
the pilot into a larger reform, and building momentum, required aligning
SECTION 2: lESSONS fROM COUNTRY CASE STUdIES
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