Egypt.. Parliament approves funding for the second phase of the French education project

Cairo, Egypt - On Tuesday, the Egyptian House of Representatives approved a partnership agreement with the French Development Agency worth two million euros, to finance the second phase of a project aimed at developing the teaching of French as a second foreign language in public schools, including modernizing curricula and textbooks, training teachers, and improving the quality of teaching French, at a time when the Egyptian education system is witnessing changes in the teaching of foreign languages ​​within the reforms of the secondary stage and the baccalaureate system. The agreement comes pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 391 of 2026, in the context of extended Egyptian-French cooperation in the field of education, amid questions about the ability of the new funding to bring about a tangible change in teaching the French language, and the extent to which curriculum development and teacher qualification are linked to the language’s position within the Egyptian educational system. “Strengthening” the teaching of the French language. The head of the Education and Scientific Research Committee of the House of Representatives, Dr. Ashraf Al-Shehhi, said that the agreement aims to enhance the capabilities of teaching the French language and disseminating it in government schools, by preparing modern and attractive curricula and textbooks, and training teachers and educational staff.

Al-Shehi added that the first phase of the project began with a grant of one and a half million euros, before it was reinforced with an additional half a million euros, reaching two million euros, while the value of the grant allocated for the second phase also amounts to two million euros. Al-Shehi explained, in exclusive statements to Ofoq News in Arabic, that the French government seeks, through the grant, to spread the French language and culture, while the primary goal for the Egyptian side is to achieve tangible benefit from the funding, noting the House of Representatives’ keenness to follow up on the implementation of the project and communicate with the Ministry of Education and Technical Education to ensure the achievement of actual results on the ground.

The roots of Egyptian-French cooperation in this field go back to a financing agreement concluded in 2018, which aimed to support French language teaching in Egyptian public schools, keep pace with educational reform, and develop the professional competencies of teachers, trainers, and inspectors. In December 2020, the Egyptian government concluded a partnership agreement with the French Development Agency, which included providing a maximum grant of one and a half million euros to implement the technical cooperation project.

France actually began supporting the project in 2021, through a program aimed at developing the teaching of French as a second foreign language. Al-Shehi pointed out the importance of following up on what was achieved during the first phase, in terms of the number of teachers who were trained, the training mechanisms and the extent of its efficiency, in addition to the curricula and textbooks that were prepared, in a way that ensures building on previous results and achieving the maximum benefit from the second phase, pointing out that the models he saw of the new books and curricula are more attractive to students, and can contribute to increasing their interest in the French language, especially if this is coupled with good teacher preparation.

The development of French language teaching is not limited to updating curricula or training teachers, as it is also linked to the language’s position within the educational system and the extent of students’ interest in studying it. In this context, Al-Shehhi, who previously held the position of Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, said that among the topics up for discussion with the Minister of Education and Technical Education is returning the French language to the list of basic subjects whose grades are included in the academic aggregate, instead of its current status as an optional subject outside the aggregate.

This comes in conjunction with the reforms of secondary education and the Egyptian baccalaureate system announced by the Ministry of Education in 2025, which affected the scope and methods of teaching the second foreign language. In parallel with these changes, the Ministry confirmed the continued application of textbooks prepared by the Technical Cooperation Project in the preparatory stage, starting from the 2025 academic year, within the targeted school networks, with a gradual expansion to include additional stages and schools.

Regarding the schools and teachers targeted by the second phase, Al-Shehi explained that the mechanisms and details regarding this matter have not yet become clear, and that the dialogue with the ministry is still ongoing, with the details to be announced successively. Sustainability of the Project Al-Shehi stressed that the sustainability of the project does not necessarily require obtaining new grants, explaining that the financing philosophy is based on building sustainable capabilities, by training teachers and qualifying them to transfer expertise to their colleagues, ensuring the continuation of the training process and developing curricula and textbooks after the end of the funding.

He pointed out that the first phase of the project began in 2021 and ended in 2025, while the project is currently being completed through the second phase, expressing his welcome of the agreement and the House of Representatives’ keenness to follow up on its implementation and achieve its goals. A "good" step. For his part, Fathi Qandil, a member of the Education and Scientific Research Committee in the House of Representatives, said that the partnership agreement with the French Development Agency represents a good step towards developing the teaching of the French language in public schools, and restoring interest in it as a second foreign language alongside English.

Qandil added in exclusive statements to Ofoq News in Arabic that the French language had received greater attention in the basic education stages during previous periods, indicating that developing its teaching and preparing modern curricula and educational materials could contribute to increasing students’ interest in learning it. He stressed the importance of the student studying more than one foreign language, which will provide him with broader opportunities in education and work in the future, explaining that the Ministry of Education and Technical Education is the body responsible for identifying the schools and teachers targeted by the project, and establishing the training and coordination mechanisms necessary to implement the agreement.

The second phase of the project aims to develop the teaching of French as a second foreign language within the Egyptian public education system, modernize its teaching methods and ensure its sustainability, by supporting teachers, educational frameworks and relevant institutions. The objectives of the agreement also include developing educational governance and building institutional and educational capacities within the central and decentralized structures of the Ministry of Education, ensuring the integration of French teaching in a sustainable manner within the framework of national education reform.