Egypt studies legislative amendments to expand compulsory education

CAIRO- 12 February 2026: Minister of Education and Technical Education Mohamed Abdel Latif has announced plans for a legislative amendment to extend compulsory education by including kindergarten in the mandatory education system, beginning in 2028 or 2029.

Abdel Latif said the proposal to increase the duration of compulsory education from 12 to 13 years will be studied by making kindergarten attendance mandatory, thereby lowering the starting age of compulsory education from six to five.

He explained that implementing the decision in its first year would result in two cohorts entering the education system simultaneously, as both kindergarten and first-grade students would enroll at the same time. This would effectively double the number of new entrants. “Instead of approximately 1.5 million students entering the education system annually, around 3 million students would enter in the first year of implementation,” he said.

Addressing concerns about capacity, Abdel Latif posed a key question: “Do we have enough schools and the necessary infrastructure to accommodate this number of students? This is certainly a difficult question.” However, he noted that the state has overcome significant challenges in recent years and achieved substantial progress in infrastructure development, alongside a decline in birth rates.

He explained that falling birth rates may help ease the anticipated pressure on the system. The current sixth-grade cohort numbers approximately two million students, while about 1.6 million students are currently enrolled in first grade.

The minister added that the Ministry of Education would require a transitional period of around three years to prepare for implementation. He indicated that the change could begin in 2028 and may be postponed to 2029 depending on readiness and demographic projections.

Abdel Latif also highlighted the expansion of classroom construction over the past decade, noting that approximately 150,000 new classrooms have been added—representing one-third of the total 450,000 classrooms built throughout the history of education in the country. He emphasized that this expansion reflects the substantial efforts made to accommodate growing student numbers and reduce classroom density.

The remarks were made during a meeting of the Planning and Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, chaired by MP Mohamed Soliman, to discuss the draft final accounts of the Ministry of Education’s budget for the 2024/2025 fiscal year. The session marked the first appearance of a minister from Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s government following the cabinet reshuffle approved by Parliament.