Ministry of Finance Announces Major PPP Education Expansion: 57 New Language Schools and 30 Technical Institutes
Eng. Ater Hanoura, Head of the Central Unit for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) at the Ministry of Finance, stated that investing in education is a long-term strategic pillar for Egypt's socio-economic development. Speaking at the 5th Education Investment Summit, Hanoura stressed that modernizing the educational ecosystem requires a robust partnership between the state and the private sector to align educational outputs with actual labor market demands.
He noted that successful private sector investments in technical education—where major industrial corporations established tailored schools to train their workforce—have proven highly effective in bridging the skills gap, setting a benchmark for the government to follow.
Revival of PPP Language Schools
Hanoura highlighted the success of the initial PPP language schools launched between 2019 and 2020. Designed to serve the middle class, these schools offered high-quality education at accessible annual tuition fees ranging from EGP 15,000 to EGP 20,000. Under this model, the government provided land under a nominal usufruct system, while private investors handled construction and management subject to strict performance metrics.
While Phase 2 faced temporary delays due to land allocation challenges, the Ministries of Finance and Education are now reviving the initiative. The current plan targets the immediate rollout of 57 new schools, aiming to establish approximately 800 schools over the next five to seven years through consecutive annual phases.
European-Accredited Technical Education
To further integrate educational outputs with industrial needs, the government is preparing to launch 30 new technical schools in partnership with the private sector, utilizing land transferred from the Ministry of Housing.
Key features of this initiative include:
Operating under advanced technical and educational standards.
Securing accreditations and licensing from European educational bodies.
Providing graduates with internationally recognized diplomas, enabling direct entry into foreign labor markets without additional equivalency procedures.
Contracting procedures for the first school have already begun, with six additional schools slated for the current phase.
Nile Schools Expansion Strategy
Hanoura also outlined plans to scale the highly successful "Nile Schools" model, which operates on an international curriculum in collaboration with Cambridge University. The government plans to expand this model through two primary PPP tracks:
Direct PPP Model: The state allocates land while private investors construct, equip, and operate the facilities under Nile Schools standards, before transferring ownership back to the state upon contract expiration.
Franchise Model: Private schools can acquire a commercial franchise license to implement the Nile Schools system. These operators will be subject to strict quality control and technical oversight, paying a franchise fee that will be reinvested into national educational development and teacher training.