Egypt After 25 January Revolution

which have modest economies. Collectively speaking the Arab world does not spend enough on education; according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) statistics Arab countries spend less than 2% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on education and scientific research, in contrast to the developed countries which spend about 10%. This reveals a big gap between developed countries and the Arab world. The actual spending on education and research has declined after 1985.

Insufficient funding affects all aspects of education beginning with infrastructure all the way to the quality of education. According to Al-ahram daily newspaper, lack of funding results in the lack of buildings and this reduces the number of class rooms which forces too many students into classes and forces schools to work in shifts. Insufficient funds lead to sub par salaries for teachers which affects on their productivity as they are often obliged to earn from other sources in order to live with basic needs.

The funding for research is like nothing, "In Egypt alone we have thousands of Ph.D. holders capable of doing research, trained to do research, and they have near nothing in scientific research support funds," Mr. Farouq el-Baz says.

According to a survey we took of college students, about 70% blamed insufficient funding as an obstacle in education reform. They went on to say that the aspects of education most affected by a lack of funding are: the building of new schools, salaries of teachers and the provision of educational equipment and material.

2. Classroom Size:

The actual rate of enrolment though not as high as in the developed world but the lack of buildings and institutions leads to higher enrolment in existing arrangements which deprives many students from the right of education thus violating the human rights declaration of 1948. The educational system does not have enough premises and staff for new pupils therefore they are compelled to sit in large groups and overcrowded classrooms. One example of this can be seen in Egyptian universities. According to formal statistics, the faculty of law at Cairo University is comprised of about 30,000 students and one can not imagine how students arrange to get in lecture auditoriums and listen to the lectures and how much one can benefit from these lectures. Likewise, the faculty of commerce is comprised of about 50,000 students. These shocking figures show the seriousness of this problem and the story is not much different in other Arab countries.

Effects of this problem: The huge number of students whether in schools or universities affects the quality of education, less interaction between students and teachers, many social problems like quarrels between students render the education meaningless.

The reasons for this problem: Political and economic reasons.

Political