Egypt’s education minister declared on Tuesday, 20 October, that the debate is over regarding whether international schools must teach Arabic, history and religion, and whether to count the grades toward students’ final scores.
“There is no student who will not study history, Arabic and religion in any Egyptian school,” Minister of Education and Technical Education, Mohamed Abdel Latif, said at the Egypt Forum 2026, taking place from 19 to 24 October 19. “This issue is finished.”
During the forum’s education session, an exchange occurred between the minister and Ahmad Tarek Khalil, a businessman who took part in the discussion. Tarek stressed that the Arabic language is important and necessary and should be prioritized in all international schools in Egypt.
Abdel Latif agreed with him and said that treating Arabic and History as a pass-or-fail subject would amount to sidelining them. He stressed that the Ministry of Education is also helping international schools teach Arabic.
Now, Arabic and history, both taught at international schools, each count for 10 percent of the total score on the international certificate that is equivalent to the Egyptian secondary certificate, making together 20 percent, and the grades come from a general exam run by the ministry.
Most importantly, the rule applies to students who completed middle school in 2024-25 and are now moving into their final year of secondary school, according to Abdel Latif. Families were given four years’ notice, so the decision should not come as a surprise. Students, he added, tend to neglect subjects that do not count toward their total.
The comments come following the question of Nader Younan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Saint Fatima Schools, who represents an association of international school owners, who asked the ministry to let students simply pass or fail the national-identity subjects without adding them to the total, noting that the schools have taught them for years.
He argued that international diplomas already require many subjects compared with Egypt’s national Baccalaureate, and that adding more graded material would overload students. He also asked the ministry to reconsider annual tuition increases, which can reach seven percent.
The stance fits the minister’s earlier public line, as he told the Senate that every student in Egypt should know the country’s history and master its mother tongue.
The stakes are large, as Egypt has the biggest pre-university system in the Middle East and North Africa, with more than 25.6 million students and about 62,690 schools enrolled in 2025-26.
