London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Hybrid learning

Hybrid learning for Egypt's upcoming academic year

The coronavirus has challenged traditional education methods and paved the way for blended teaching at universities
The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on lifestyles has been pervasive, and will likely be long-lasting. Its effects on the world economy have been dramatic, with some of the largest national economies shrinking by 30 per cent, and growth rates regressing the world over. Yet amid all the contraction, the demand for education is as high as ever.

Starting next semester, public, private and national universities will adopt hybrid learning systems in an attempt to meet this demand, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has announced, blending traditional classroom experience with online courses.

To facilitate the online component of the programme, the ministry has laid out a plan to upgrade the technological infrastructure of universities at a cost of LE4.8 billion.

Freshmen will still need to attend lectures to familiarise themselves with the way university education works, says Mohamed Saraya, a professor of business administration at Misr University for Science and Technology.

During the first year, faculties will need to familiarise their students with necessary skills such as self-learning, research techniques, and critical and imaginative thinking, but once students enter the second year there is no reason why the bulk of theoretical courses should not be conducted online.

Practical courses, which require the physical presence of the teacher and students in the same space, will continue to be taught in the traditional way.

“I don’t think the government has many choices given the demands being made on limited budgets. It has to direct the majority of investment towards research, rehabilitating teachers, developing curricula and nonconventional education methods, all of which will require improvement in the Internet infrastructure,” says Saraya.

The Ministry of Higher Education should view the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to integrate technology into education and promote e-learning, argues Mohamed Shoman, dean of the Faculty of Media Communication at the British University in Egypt.

Developed countries, he says, are already making strides in this direction as universities introduce theoretical subjects online and conduct practical course in small groups.

The challenges to such an approach in Egypt, says Shoman, “run the gamut of university education, from the teaching board, students and curricula to the availability of an Internet infrastructure and applications that can facilitate communication between students and professors”.

At public universities “where large numbers of students are enrolled there is the added challenge of the need to upgrade lecture halls so social distancing is possible.” Not that this is insurmountable.

“The government successfully implemented social distancing during the Thanaweya Amma final year exams at schools and there is no reason why it cannot repeat the same success at universities,” points out Shoman.

“During the spring semester, with the implementation of social distancing measures, university professors videorecorded their lectures and uploaded them online on university channels and other outlets for the students to download,” says Hisham Saber, a professor of teaching methods at the University of Zagazig. Which was a start of sorts. But much more needs to be done.

Online education requires programmes that simulate classes and allow teachers to communicate with a closed group of students, manage a virtual class and receive comments as well as deliver lectures.

“For the time being it is best to leave it to each faculty to determine the most suitable system for practical subjects that require attendance, and theoretical material that doesn’t necessitate the presence of teachers and students in one place,” says Saber.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×