لخّصلي

A strong belief in the determinative nature of examination results has implications for the type of student who goes on to undertake vocational training.The majority of students attending Egypt's technical colleges are those who have failed to win a university place.While the ability to pay can open doors to a university education, those who cannot afford such privileges are often forced to consider low- skilled labour or vocational education as a necessity, rather than a choice.

A strong belief in the determinative nature of examination results has implications for the type of student who goes on to undertake vocational training. The majority of students attending Egypt’s technical colleges are those who have failed to win a university place. There is an obvious correlation with the quality and capacity of those who pursue this track. The 2010 OECD report on Egypt’s higher education system identified the transition of students from general and vocational tracks of secondary education to general higher education as one of the most significant challenges for education reform in Egypt.19 The report argues that those who have pursued training through technical and vocational training are effectively ‘tracked out’, with limited opportunities for further learning.
However, students from wealthy families can avoid forced tracking, opting to continue their education in private schools and, later, universities (see next section). While the ability to pay can open doors to a university education, those who cannot afford such privileges are often forced to consider low- skilled labour or vocational education as a necessity, rather than a choice.
This creates a vicious circle whereby technical and vocational education and training suffer from low status, poor funding and poor quality.20 According to the Egyptian Centre for Economic Studies, nearly as much funding is allocated to the one-third of secondary-school students who are in non- technical education as is provided to the two-thirds who are in technical education.