CAIRO: Egypt spent 45.3 billion EGP ($5.9 billion) on education in the fiscal year (FY) 2013/2014, equivalent to 6 percent of the state’s budget, according to a Monday report by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS.)
In 2004/2005, public schools in Egypt reached 25,100, amounting to 28,500 in 2013/2014 and planned to increase to 34,100 in 2024/2025, according to CAPMAS’s Development of Basic Education in Egypt report.
A total of 11.2 million students and 542,200 teachers at public schools in 2004/2005 increased to 11.2 million and 636,900, respectively, in 2013/2014. Students and teachers are expected to reach 17.1 million and 767,500, respectively, in 2024/2025.
The education budget for FY 2014/2015 is estimated at 87 billion EGP. However, officials say that 90 percent of it is allocated to wages.
The Egyptian constitution, passed in 2014, obliges the government to spend at least four percent of the budget on education.