Egypt rejects international schools' plea to make Arabic and history pass-or-fail

Egypt's education minister, Mohamed Abdel Latif, turned down a request from international school owners on 19 October 2026 to make Arabic and history pass-or-fail subjects, saying grades in both will count towards pupils' final scores.

"No student will be allowed to skip studying Arabic, history and religion in any school in Egypt. The matter is over," he said at an education session of the Egypt Forum 2026, according to El Balad.

Under the rule, Arabic and history each make up 10 per cent of the total on the international certificate that Egypt treats as equal to its own secondary certificate, Egyptian Streets reported. The grades come from a general exam run by the ministry. The rule covers pupils who finished preparatory school in 2024 and 2025, once they reach the third year of secondary school.

Nader Younan, chairman of Saint Fatima Schools, spoke for the association of international school owners. He asked the ministry to grade the two subjects pass-or-fail and leave them out of the total, saying international diplomas already carry far more subjects than Egypt's Thanaweya Amma. "There is no problem, as these subjects have been taught for years," he said.

He also asked the ministry to look again at annual fee rises, which can reach 7 per cent.

Abdel Latif said the decision was not sudden and families had four years' notice. "The student does not care about a subject that is outside the total," he said. He also said it was unacceptable for international school pupils not to be proficient in Arabic.

Al-Dostor reported that the minister asked whether four years was not enough time to teach a pupil the language of their own country. He said the ministry had already let international schools set their own exams in Arabic, social studies and religious education for the years that do not end in a certificate, and would give technical help where schools needed it.

He put the pass rate in national identity subjects on the preparatory certificate exam at 48 per cent, the paper reported.

The session, titled "What are our children learning, and does it prepare them for the future?", was part of a forum attended by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, El Balad reported. Egypt's schools enrolled more than 25.6 million pupils in about 62,690 schools in 2025 to 2026, according to Egyptian Streets.