Monday, 25 May 2026
Egypt pushes forward education reforms at London world forum
Egypt’s education minister led a senior delegation to the Education World Forum in London this week, highlighting the country’s drive to modernise its schooling system and strengthen international partnerships.
Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif attended the May 17–20 gathering, billed as the world’s largest annual meeting of education and skills ministers. Held under the theme “Strong, sustainable and inclusive education: building resilience, fostering equity, and driving change,” the forum is supported by the UK government and the British Council.
In a plenary address, Abdel Latif said Egypt was focused on boosting critical thinking and digital skills, widening access to quality education, and upgrading technical and vocational training. He stressed the country’s push to align national reforms with global best practice and the needs of a fast‑changing labour market.
On the sidelines, the minister met counterparts from Azerbaijan, South Africa and the United Kingdom to discuss cooperation on school standards, technical education and broader reform efforts. He also held talks with Olli-Pekka Heinonen, head of the International Baccalaureate, on expanding internationally recognised education models in Egypt.
The ministry announced a proposal for a new strategic partnership with the British Council and Estyn, Wales’s education inspectorate, aimed at strengthening quality assurance. The plan includes developing inspection frameworks and delivering training and mentoring for ministry teams. Under the proposal, the British Council would coordinate implementation while Estyn would provide advisory support.
Mark Howard, British Council Egypt country director, said the forum offered an important space for global education leaders to address shared challenges and explore solutions. Harry Haynes, the organisation’s regional lead for English and school education programmes, said the event was a chance to showcase joint work in Egypt and learn from reforms abroad.
Throughout the forum, the Egyptian delegation joined meetings and policy discussions on digital learning, teacher development, inclusion and school improvement, exchanging experiences with international counterparts.