Schools

[Annie]

Just wondering how much does it cost to send a child to school in Egypt? And is it compulsory or what happens if you can't afford to send your child to school are there home schooling options?

[Who2]

All the kids in our village on the West Bank all go to school.
They seem to start at 6am then later on in the day ending up with the
older girls.

The boys either use their older brothers motor cycles, but all the girls have to walk...
School buses the small Previas can be heard about 2-3pm with all the kids shouting and hanging out the windows.
Sometimes on the roof racks...lol

Most seem to wear uniforms but everything here costs but School attendance.
I am sure The Sunshine Orphanage on the East Bank could be highly informative on edication (sic)
for kids of all ages, they have been doing it for 25 years..

https://www.facebook.com/groups/792545660943525/

Good Luck!...

[A-Four]

Annie your question here is rather vague, before anyone can give additional advice, is the information for an Egyptian child or British, and if British do they speak Arabic, also what is the age of the child ?

[Annie]

I'm thinking about Egyptian children in general, I've seen them trotting off to school and wondered how the poor can afford to send them to school if it's compulsory what happens if they can't afford it etc it's just an observation, I don't have children or live in Egypt!

[Teddyboy]

When we first lived, on the East Bank, in Luxor, I wasn't much aware of schools or schoolchildren. However, as time went on I saw all the children flocking into the Christian school across the road from us, and was aware of my Muslim neighbour's children coming and going with books and general school stuff in satchels.
The Christian school also took Muslim pupils, who were taught separately in their own room/s. Mind you, whilst it seemed that all the Christian children attended school, it was patently obvious that the same couldn't be said for the Muslim kids!
One little boy stands out vividly in my memory; I was first aware of him at about 2 years old. He was dumped on the Corniche pavement near to the entrance to the New Winter Palace. He had a falafel sandwich and a bottle of Egyptian water. His USP was his miniature shoe-shine kit and his obvious cuteness! He probably did quite well from the New Winter's clientele. Years later (he'd be 10 or 12ish by then) he was to be found in various spots, either straightforwardly begging or selling his favours to foreign tourists! I doubt that he ever attended a school.
Also, many children were never registered, so the equivalent of the "School-board man" wasn't even aware of their existence in order to get them into school. Many farmer's children were too valuable working on the land to waste their time in learning useless things. They would farm like their ancestors, sickle in hand. What need did they have for reading and writing etc. If you change money at an exchange house, you might notice an ink pad on the counter; this is for those who cannot sign their name, they leave a fingerprint instead.
On the face of it, Egypt may seem to be getting into the modern world, but don't believe it. The mindset of a great many Egyptians is still in the 19th century!!! Visitors need to have a realistic view in order to get the most from their time in this fabulous land. The ordinary folk are full of generosity and kindness, quite unlike many who work in the tourism sector who are already very wealthy by comparison.

[Who2]

Where I live Najar abu Ramadan is still a farming village, all be'it new villas are being built further down the canal.
We have had 6 tractors for years here working all over the west bank night and day.
Sheep are herded daily, parseem and donkeys abound as do horses and turo o cycles.

The kids and dogs play in the street and men train their horses to dance.
And of course in the winter we have the early evening parade of horses and tourist riders.

But with all the money about and mecanisation, everyone seems quite happy even the visiting beggar.
Our descendants swooped down off the mountain and as was there trade and built villages of the now drained land.
'The then government pretty damn quickly introduced some land acts, everybody pays a yearly minimum land tax.
Our village is one family from a mountain village name of Armen or Armin, never could find out.
Everybody here is related accepting me, the acceptable 'hawadga'...

Our street then:

The 'ice-cream seller

And now;

'That's the same lamp-post,

The street also allows a bypass of the Police Checkpoint, which explains many things..

Ps: Even this village earns from the tourist industry, when the wind blows from the NW,
50 or more balloons land in the fields and the farmers charge for crop damage.
So tourism in Luxor is making everybody rich, I'm happy to have helped in that respect.

It's called the trickle down effect...