Egypt to build more polytechnic universities amid skilled worker shortage

Egypt says it will build more polytechnic universities to tackle the shortage of skilled technicians and specialized workers in the country.

This is one of the factors that prevents the populous country from moving upward in the international value chain.

Under the framework of Egypt Vision 2030, a national strategy for sustainable development, the most populous Arab country has founded 10 polytechnic universities in the past two years in the delta.

North coast and in upper Egypt, based on a law issued in 2019 that allows Egypt’s public universities to establish nonprofit colleges in partnership with foreign higher institutions.

The Egyptian population is estimated to burgeon from 105 million in June 2023 to 160 million in 2050.

Currently, youth have already taken up 45 percent of the entire population, meaning Egypt would need to build 83 new universities to accommodate their education needs.

This is according to the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Ayman Ashour.

Last month, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated Borg El Arab Technological University in Alexandria, northern Egypt.

Establishing polytechnic universities in line with the latest international systems can qualify students for the most technologically advanced sectors, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

Mohamed al-Gohary, president of the new university, said the school offered a technology-based curriculum in machinery operation and maintenance, such as spinning and weaving machinery.

And the curriculum would contain machinery for the food industry, information technology, tractors, and agricultural equipment for the railway.

The university also offers research programs and workshops in collaboration with factories to help students gain hands-on experience.

“Egypt’s new polytechnic universities are centered in industrial areas and focus on serving the country’s national energy, communication, and transportation projects.’’

Araby Kishk, president of Delta Technological University, another new university established in an industrial zone in Menoufia province, told Xinhua.

He said 70 percent of the students at his university came from technical secondary schools.

They are taking six technical programs at the university, including renewable energy and IT, said Kishk.

Egypt’s approach to expanding the number of polytechnic universities would also boost the innovation and localization of modern technology in the industry, said Tariq al-Nabarawi, chairman of the Egyptian Engineers Syndicate.

These types of higher education institutions have gained popularity among students who aspire to secure well-paid jobs with professional skills, he added.