Introduction and context
NQF snapshot
Instead of a separate legal act, the NQF was introduced as an amendment of the law establishing the National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Education (NAQAAE) (law 82/ year 2006); the amended law is currently in parliament for approval.
The NAQAAE the lead body, while the Ministries of Higher Education, Education, Industry and Manpower are the main other implementing bodies.
The TVET 2 programme (see International Cooperation) will support NAQAAE in drafting the amendment of its current executive regulations (bylaws) to correspond with the amendments of the law. The planned qualifications framework (QF) will comprise eight levels.
Educational, social, economic and political context
Egypt is a lower middle-income country with a population, in 2015, of 91 million . The annual population growth rate is declining (at 1.6%), but there is still high demographic pressure, with young people aged 15 to 24 accounting for 20% of the total population, requiring significant public investment in education, health, employment, housing and infrastructure.
Although GDP is steadily growing (from 1.8% in 2011 to 4.2% in 2015), Egypt’s economy is on shaky ground. A drop in tourism has been dragging on economic activity since late 2015. Fewer tourists and lower revenues from the Suez Canal have caused the country’s international reserves to plunge. The loss of an Egypt Air flight in the Mediterranean in May and the Sinai plane crash in November 2015 have been a setback for tourism. Acute dollar shortages are restraining business activity and have negative repercussions on the wider economy. The fiscal position also worsened as financial support from oil-rich regional peers weakened with the oil price slump. Standard and Poor Global Ratings’ move to downgrade Egypt’s credit outlook from stable to negative in May reflects these increasing imbalances.
That said, the government’s fiscal consolidation targets recently laid out in the 2017 draft budget come as positive news. Measures to curb the deficit include a reduction in the State subsidy bill by 14% and belated implementation of value-added tax. In November 2016, the Egyptian pound was floated freely on the market, instead of being sustained by the State, which has reversed the exchange rate with the US dollar and euros. This measure is supposed to reduce the real value of the pound and attract business, but it will take some time before the positive effects can be seen. The measure was required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as one of the conditions for the loan (they have just delivered the first instalment).
Unemployment is high and slowly increasing (from 12% in 2011 to 13% in 2014) following the country’s economic difficulties. Similar to other countries in the region, Egypt is characterised by a low activity rate for females, which in the past five years has remained around 15%. Potentially active women have difficulty in finding a job and their unemployment level is almost the double of that of men (24% versus 13% in 2014). In the past two years, the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector has been under the spotlight, as most policy-makers consider it a powerful instrument for addressing unemployment and supporting economic growth. This pressure has pushed policy-makers to provide rapid answers to the main challenge of the sector, which is fragmentation and lack of a common vision. In 2016, this reform wave peaked with the creation of a Ministry of Technical Education and Training. This was not a cosmetic institutional change; the creation of the ministry brought strong centralisation. The Industrial and Training Council
(ITC) has been moved from the Ministry of Industry to the new ministry, along with responsibility for all enterprise training partnerships (ETPs). The new Ministry of Technical Education and Training was assigned responsibility for the strategic policy orientations of vocational training centres.
However, a few months later, the new ministry was abolished and functions, which had been centralised, returned to their original institutions. After this attempt at reform, TVET governance has remained stagnant, as have many of the challenges linked to fragmented TVET system governance and lack of coordination among existing stakeholders. The latest attempt at establishing coordination mechanisms has been the operationalisation of the TVET Executive Council, which was foreseen in Prime Minister’ decree but never became active. At strategic level, new initiatives to give the country a vision for TVET reform have been put in place. The Ministry of Planning has launched the Egypt vision 2030: a sustainable development strategy, which includes a specific section for the TVET sector. UNESCO has worked with the Ministry of Education (MoE) to define the pillars of a new strategy for TVET. The new EU-funded programme in VET (TVET 2) (EUR 115 million) launched by the EU delegation and the national government, will try to build on this document and achieve a fully-fledged national strategy for TVET.
The Ministry of Education is starting to reform the TVET sector through the TVET 2.0 reform initiative, similar to the reform process launched in general education through the Education 2.0 initiative. This is an ambitious plan but it does not address the fragmentation of the system. This unwillingness of stakeholders to recognise the leadership of one specific actor in one specific component of the TVET reform has still to be addressed.
Within the context of improving the business climate, a new Development Agency has been created under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The Industrial and Training Council (ITC), the Social Fund for Development (SFD), and the Technology Centres under the Education Development Fund will be merged as per the ministerial decree of 24 March 2017. The inclusion of the ITC in the Agency may have a deep impact on ITC functions as its work on the framework of qualifications and skills standards (representing around 80% of ITC activities) might be discontinued. In addition, the weakness of Enterprise Training Partnerships (ETPs) has become a serious concern for the future of the TVET sector and their function as a bridge between the demand and supply of skills. The TVET II programme is working to provide ETPs with a clear institutional and financial sustainability, but efforts have not yet materialised.
Policy objectives
Education and training reforms
Between the end of 2014 and 2015 signs of acceleration of TVET reform became evident as a number of important policy decisions were taken or announced. The most notable developments concerned the area of governance: reshaping the governance structure of TVET through adoption of a system of cascading councils, including structures at regional level; introducing the position of Deputy Minister for Technical Education as a precursor to the possible establishment of a separate TVET ministry; upgrading TVET to the level of the Constitution (Article 20); and restructuring the Ministry of Education, including establishment of a school-to-work-transition unit and a planning and coordination unit in the TVET sector.
The priorities identified for TVET reform are:
- defining a vision and strategy agreed by all key stakeholders;
- setting up standard processes for qualifications development (NQF, occupational standards, curriculum development), which would reduce the gap between the requirements of the labour market and the outputs of technical and vocational education. Up to now different stakeholders have developed competence-based programmes in the framework of international projects. However, these initiatives have been based on different methodologies and no national standard process has been developed and approved;
- reinforcing current work-based learning initiatives and the establishment of new innovative ones.
International cooperation
The main international project supporting TVET reform is the EU-funded TVET 2 programme. This is a EUR 117 million programme (EUR 50 million from the EU and EUR 67 million from the Egyptian government) aiming at systemic reform of the TVET sector. The programme has been waiting many years for its launch due to the unstable political conditions. In 2015 the programme became operational with the establishment of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) and the launch of terms of reference for main activities. In 2016 the PIU started putting activities in place.
Egypt participated in the regional project Qualifications for the Mediterranean (Q4M), which developed common profiles for occupations in the tourism and construction sectors.
Various EU donors and agencies (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), British Council, World Bank, ILO and others) are working in TVET in Egypt, with some direct links with the NQF:
- learning outcomes-based qualifications have been produced in the framework of several international and national initiatives. Currently different programmes (GIZ, WISE) are cooperating at developing this core process;
- the Industrial Training Council (ITC) also launched a continuation of the skills development project jointly funded by the World Bank and Ministry of Trade and Industry between 2004 and 2010. This initiative uses the skills-based methodology of the Scottish National Qualification Authority;
- the EVCQ1 development and international endorsement programme, another ITC initiative in partnership with employer organisations, aims to develop demand- driven and internationally endorsed vocational qualifications, according to the skills standards required in industry, tourism and construction sectors. Up to now, 350 qualifications have been developed and endorsed. The extent to which these are used and updated is not clear; future plans target 50 qualifications covering 20 trades in the industrial sector.
Levels and use of learning outcomes
Alignment to other classification systems
Among the objectives of the revisited NQF model presented in 2015 by NAQAAE is development of a sectoral qualifications framework, a credit accumulation and transfer system, and a recognition of prior learning and validation of current competences.
NQF levels and level descriptors
The Egyptian NQF currently has eight levels. These eight levels are described according to three broad descriptors. These are:
(a) knowledge: described by knowledge extent and depth;
(b) skills: described as cognitive skills (including logical, intuitive and creative thinking) and professional skills (including manual dexterity and the use of methods, materials, tools and instruments);
(c) competences: described in terms of the extent of responsibility, autonomy and interaction.
Qualifications
Definition of qualification
No legal definition is used.
Qualification standards
Occupational standards are the basis of VET qualifications.
Development process of qualifications
Prior to the model derived from the European qualifications framework (EQF) and developed by NAQAAE, the National skills standard project was introduced and is still used to provide standards in training programmes for tourism, construction and agriculture with the involvement of the sectoral and regional enterprise training partnerships (ETPs). How far these standards have been updated is not clear, nor whether they are used in TVET.
The national core process, which is currently under development by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Industry, with the support of the TVET 2 programme, will include an important role for employers in defining occupational standards, qualifications and curricula. However this process is not yet active and, outside of qualifications developed in the framework of international projects, no mechanisms are in place to ensure that national qualifications are relevant to employers.
The Ministry of Manpower and Migration (MoMM) cooperated with the Industrial and Training Council and the Scottish Qualifications Authority to accredit 25 out of 52 qualifications in the field of building and construction.
Access, progression and credit
The establishment of progression pathways to avoid dead-ends and educational bottlenecks, as well as rules to accredit prior learning, are among key objectives of the Egyptian NQF. Up to now, no detailed rules have been defined. The fragmented VET landscape and the absence of a formal NQF do not allow horizontal progression pathways and progression between systems.
Nevertheless, NQF objectives and other initiatives are linking TVET and general education systems, promoting level progression and permitting horizontal mobility.
Use of learning outcomes
A national process for developing learning- outcomes-based curricula exists for higher education and technical education (whether high or pre-university). VET is not included and has not yet been fully approved.
Existing national qualifications are not yet defined in terms of learning outcomes but there are many examples developed in the framework of international or national initiatives. However, there is no national process for developing learning- outcomes-based qualifications.
NQF scope and structure
The Egyptian NQF is intended to support lifelong learning, covering general, VET and HE qualifications.
The work on the national qualification framework (NQF) has proved prolonged and complicated. At a conference organised in 2015, NAQAAE announced a model of the revisited NQF. The application and expectations of the Egyptian NQF were explained: a NQF for permeability and mobility, to assure the quality of programmes, to bridge the gap between offer and demand, to develop a sectoral qualifications framework (SQF), to provide scale of comparability and to assure that new qualifications fit in the framework. Initiatives to consult the public, to include and engage all stakeholders, to address the TVET sector, and to recognise non-formal education are in place and part of the NQF strategy.
Stages of development:
(a) awareness and mobilising stakeholders;
(b) early stages of design (agreement on conceptual framework and objectives);
(c) consultation and testing online survey (situation 2016);
(d) next step (from 2018): official establishment and implementation.
Stakeholder involvement and institutional arrangements
Legal basis of NQF
There is no legislation applying directly to the NQF. Instead, Law No 82 of 2006 regulating the establishment of the National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Education (NAQAAE) and Presidential Decree No 25 of 2007, deal with the objectives of quality assurance and accreditation.
Related laws are:
(a) Article 20 of the Constitution of 2013, stating that TVET is a priority;
(b) a National strategic plan for pre-university education 2014-20 drafted by the Ministry of Education to overcome the serious shortcomings of the education system where TVET at all levels is considered a major strategic objective;
(c) the creation of two executive councils by the Prime Minister, each one under the responsibility of either the Ministry of Education (MoE) or the Ministry of Manpower and Migration (MoMM);
(d) a Professional Academy for Teachers (PAT) created in 2008 under the authority of the Prime Minister. Its current focus on general education has to be extended to TVET as well
Governance and institutional arrangements for the NQF
The National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Education (NAQAAE) is the lead body, while the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Manpower are the main stakeholders.
Sectoral enterprise TVET partnerships, or enterprise training partnerships (ETPs) were created to liaise between the TVET system and the private sector. They should be incorporated within the TVET governance structure. Since 2005, 12 sectoral ETPs and 19 local ETPs have been set up, each with a management board of whom two‐thirds come from private businesses and one‐third from the education and training providers.
Roles and functions of actors and stakeholders
The National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Education (NAQAAE) is in overall charge of the NQF. The social partners should play a significant role: sectoral enterprise TVET partnerships (ETPs) were created for that purpose. TVET 2 will work at positioning all the enterprise TVET partnerships (ETPs) established by TVET 1 within the new governance structure in order to institutionalise the engagement of employers and sectors at policy level.
The TVET sector in Egypt has multiple stakeholders, all strongly engaged in sector reform. All of them also have a vision but they have not yet agreed on a common vision for TVET. Failure in recent years to approve a TVET strategy for the whole sector and agreed by all key stakeholders is a proof of the fragmentation and instability of the sector.
In January 2013, the government approved the establishment of the National TVET Authority, which replaces the Supreme Council for Human Resources Development. The authority was never operational and the new government, appointed in 2014, established a new TVET authority under the prime minister with two executive committees, one for technical vocational education and a second for vocational training. Twenty-seven regional committees have been established to assure the link with the local VET needs.
The two executive committees are coordinated by Ministry of Education for TVET, representing the initial VET sector, and the Ministry of Manpower and Migration for training, which represents CVET. The regional committees are supervised by the regional governors.
Resources and funding
The development of the NQF is one of the objectives of the programme TVET 2. One of the intended results is that ‘an overall national qualification framework (NQF) for Egypt for all qualifications is designed and formally adopted by the government of Egypt, and piloted in the tourism sector in collaboration with the NAQAAE and/or other relevant institutions.’
Quality assurance of qualifications
The quality assurance framework comprises nine areas: vision and mission of the institution; leadership and governance; human and financial resources; civil society participation; quality improvement and accountability; learners; teachers; curriculum; and education environment. Each area is further defined by specific criteria and described through a set of indicators.
A major milestone towards quality assurance was the establishment of the National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation (NAQAAE) in 2008 as an independent body reporting to the Prime Minister. While universities manage the process internally, the pre-university education institutions, including TVET, report directly to the Minister for Education. The authority has the responsibility to support quality units at regional and local levels (Idarras and Muddiriyas) to foster a quality culture and support schools in the process of complying and seeking accreditation by NAQAAE.
Quality assurance legislation includes Law No 82 of 2006 regulating the establishment of the National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Education (NAQAAE), and Presidential Decree No 25 of 2007, dealing with the objectives of quality assurance and accreditation.
The establishment of NAQAAE has given a clear institutional hub to all initiatives and responsibilities related to quality assurance and accreditation. NAQAAE has established itself as an independent body, with high-level technical competencies, which should remain a pillar of the forthcoming systemic TVET strategy. NAQAAE is mandated by law to guarantee the quality of all qualifications (including VET) and is currently working on the VET quality assurance system. The agency is responsible for promoting quality in educational institutions and the development of national standards in line with international standards.
NAQAAE has managed to build collaborative relationships with other international quality assurance organisations through exchange visits. As a result, NAQAAE signed a number of memoranda of understanding with the following quality assurance organisations: The Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME), the European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education (ENAEE), the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA), Technical and Vocational Education and Training United Kingdom (TVET-UK), Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (JABEE), Japan University Accreditation Association (JUAA), and Akkreditierungsagentur für Studiengänge der Ingenieurwissenschaften, der Informatik, der Naturwissenschaften und der Mathematik (ASIIN e.V.).
NAQAAE has obtained membership with EFQUEL (European Foundation for Quality Assurance of E-learning), EDEN (European Network for Quality Assurance of Distance and e-learning) and INQAAHE (International Network for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Higher Education). It has established an alliance with the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET).
In collaboration with stakeholders, NAQAAE has developed an integrated system to assure education quality. One of the system's outcomes is a series of guides to help higher education institutions in designing their programs to meet the accreditation requirements.
Recognising and validating non-formal and informal learning and learning pathways
One of the expected results and benefits of NQF implementation is support to validation of non-formal and informal learning, but no system or mechanism is yet formally in place for use by learners.
NQF implementation
Inclusion of qualifications in a register
Currently, there is no register or database at national level.
Monitoring, evaluation and review of the NQF
Mechanisms to monitor the effectiveness of Egypt NQF implementation have not yet been fully defined.
Impact for end-users
Learners, providers and workers are not yet using the NQF as a reference system or tool.
Referencing to regional frameworks
The NQF has no relationship with regional frameworks, though an Arab qualification framework is emerging for higher education. This aims at providing a common reference point for Arab countries engaged in developing or modifying qualifications frameworks for higher education.
Important lessons and future plans
After some years following political upheaval in the country, NAQAAE relaunched the NQF initiative in February 2015. The vision of how the NQF can support the strategic development of education (ensuring transparency, matching qualifications with companies’ needs, development of validation of non- formal and informal learning (VNFIL)) seems clear.
The NQF is also an integral part of the EU-funded TVET 2 programme. The TVET 2 support constitutes a real lever of development and implementation for an Egyptian NQF (even if ambitious). Expected results include ‘development of a mechanism to integrate the skills standards and occupational profiles within the NQF, design of an overall national qualification framework of all qualifications and formally adopted by the government (legal framework and acts), development of a register of qualifications, preparation of a document comparing the Egyptian NQF against the EQF’, looking at the current EQF referencing criteria. Despite the limited involvement of companies in qualifications issues, the existing ETPs are a starting point for company commitment.
The first challenge is to complete the legal framework (laws and by-laws). The second is to ensure the engagement of all stakeholders, particularly companies, in developing qualifications (buy-in).
Clarification of roles seems important since many ministries are involved in overlapping duties. Some tools and strategies (VNFIL, credit system, register of qualifications) should be developed in designing an overall NQF. Major work is needed on this front.
Abbreviations
ETPs enterprise training partnerships
ITC Industrial Training Council
NAQAAE National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Education
NQF national qualifications framework
MoE Ministry of Education
MoMM Ministry of Manpower and Migration
PAT Professional Academy for Teachers
TVET technical and vocational education and training
TVET 1 and 2 EU-funded projects in VET
VNFIL validation of non-formal and informal Learning
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