Dr. Ahmed El-Kased, President of Menoufia University, participated in the regular meeting of the Supreme Council of Universities, which was held under the chairmanship of Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, today, Monday, in the presence of Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education, Dr. Mustafa Refaat, Secretary of the Council and members of the Council, and university presidents at the Ministry's headquarters in the New Administrative Capital.
Dr. Ahmed El-Kased indicated that Dr. Ayman Ashour stressed during the meeting the necessity of universities implementing plans for various student activities "sports, arts, culture, and social" and supporting talented students, noting that student activities are one of the most important foundations of the educational system. The Minister stressed the importance of universities continuing to support and discover talented, brilliant and innovative students, and providing all necessary support to them, receiving their research and innovative ideas, and working on developing them, in a way that contributes to transforming their innovative ideas into competitively marketable products, and helping to create marketing opportunities for them.
The Minister also directed the continuation of the effective role of universities in implementing the presidential initiative for human development (a new beginning for building the human being) through executive plans, timetables, performance indicators, and intensifying the implementation of awareness and educational seminars for students on various challenges, and enhancing their sense of belonging, to confront concepts and ideas that conflict with the tolerant religious beliefs and authentic cultural and societal legacies of the Egyptian people, in addition to organizing field visits to the national projects being implemented; so that students can learn about the size of the projects being implemented in various sectors throughout the Republic.
Dr. Ahmed El-Kased added that the meeting also stressed the importance of activating the role of regional alliances that were signed between universities and production and industrial institutions, implementing the regional alliance plan to support scientific research for industry and the national economy, and confronting the challenges facing the various geographical regions at the level of the Republic, and supporting the transformation of educational institutions into innovative institutions that contribute to attracting distinguished scientific cadres, in implementation of the presidential initiative "Alliance and Development", which enjoys the support and patronage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic, and in line with achieving the goals of the National Strategy for Higher Education and Scientific Research.
The Minister also directed the universities to continue their interest in community participation in cooperation with the "Decent Life" initiative by launching medical, veterinary, and agricultural convoys, organizing educational seminars, events, and various activities, working on capacity building, and making more efforts in all health, environmental, veterinary, and social fields, and increasing the efforts of universities in the literacy file in cooperation with the General Authority for Adult Education; activating the role of universities in serving society and developing the environment.
El-Kased added that the Minister of Higher Education thanked the university presidents and their deputies for their effective role in facilitating the electronic coordination procedures for public universities at various stages, by opening computer labs to students, and providing them with the necessary technical support while choosing their desires, in addition to periodic follow-up of students' performance in aptitude tests in various colleges.
The Minister also praised the appearance of a large number of Egyptian scientists on Stanford University's list of the top 2% of the most cited scientists in the world, in various specializations, congratulating them for their excellence and scientific brilliance. The Minister directed that universities should continue to provide support to researchers to increase scientific publication in prestigious scientific journals; to raise the ranking of Egyptian universities in major international rankings.
Dr. Ahmed El-Kased pointed out that the Council reviewed a report on the most prominent activities of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research during the month of September.
El-Kased also indicated that the Council approved amending some provisions of the executive regulations of the Universities Regulation Law, regarding the conditions for obtaining a master's degree in the faculties of computers and information at Egyptian universities, provided that the necessary legal measures are taken in this regard.
For his part, Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education, reviewed the efforts of the Ministry of Education in confronting the density of classrooms, and overcoming the problem of teacher shortages in schools. The Minister pointed to the high rates of student attendance in various schools across the Republic, stressing the achievement of discipline in all schools across the Republic.