Finance Ministry plans 800 PPP schools, 30 European-accredited technical schools
Egypt’s Ministry of Finance is advancing plans to establish 800 schools through public-private partnerships (PPPs), while preparing to launch 30 technical schools with European accreditation that will enable graduates to work directly in European labour markets, according to Atter Hanoura, Head of the Central PPP Unit at the Ministry of Finance.
Speaking during the opening session of the fifth Annual Education Investment Summit, held under the theme “Creating an Enabling Investment Environment for the Education Sector: The State’s Role in Developing Infrastructure and Attracting Strategic Partnerships,” Hanoura said investment in education is a long-term investment in human capital that requires close cooperation between the government and the private sector.
He stressed that neither the government nor the private sector can independently meet Egypt’s growing education needs, arguing that an integrated partnership model is essential to channel investments in line with national development priorities and labour market requirements.
Hanoura highlighted the success of several privately developed technical schools serving industrial sectors and noted that the Ministry of Finance, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, launched Egypt’s first PPP language schools project in 2019 and 2020. The schools became operational in 2020 with the aim of providing high-quality education for middle-income families at affordable tuition fees.
Under the PPP model, the government allocates land through long-term usufruct agreements at nominal rates, while private investors finance, build, and operate the schools under contracts that include performance indicators and government oversight.
Hanoura said the first phase of the initiative delivered positive results, with annual tuition fees averaging around EGP 52,000. The original plan envisaged launching the second and third phases to reach a total of 800 schools over five to seven years, but implementation was delayed by a shortage of suitable land.
He revealed that the government is now coordinating with the Ministry of Education to launch the second phase of the programme, which includes the construction of 57 new schools, with additional batches to be offered annually as more land becomes available.
Turning to technical education, Hanoura said the government plans to establish around 30 technical schools in partnership with the private sector on land transferred from the Ministry of Housing to the Ministry of Education.
The schools will be built to international standards and receive accreditation from European institutions, allowing graduates to work directly in European labour markets without the need for their qualifications to undergo additional recognition procedures.
Hanoura added that the government is close to finalising the contract for the first school under the programme and is simultaneously working on six additional technical education initiatives, with plans to expand the model over the coming years.
The Ministry of Finance is also studying the expansion of the Nile Schools model through PPPs by allocating state-owned land for new schools or allowing existing private schools to adopt the Nile Schools curriculum under the supervision of the Ministry of Education.
Under the proposed model, part of the revenues generated from the programme would be allocated to teacher training and professional development, Hanoura said.
