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Re: ESC became DISASTROUS like everything else in Egypt..
by Michael Topsakal

June 26, 2004

Dear Ahmed,

I see your point and basically agree with your observations, but dont be too hard on yourself, the present El Nasr School or the present condition of Egypt. In my simplistic view, history has taken its toll on the school as well as other things.

The English School Cairo died in October 1956, an innocent victim of the Suez crisis. In my opinion, there are three distinctive eras in the life of the building that stands on Abu Bakr Avenue, formerly known as the Airport (EL-Mattar) Road:

1. The English era up till 1956
2. The Transition era, 1956-1966, witnessing the introduction of GCE local in 1957 and its termination starting in 1965 (phased out a few years later).
3. The present era, 1966-present.

Additionally, there were also three pillars on which the English School Cairo operated on:

1. An English institution of learning, managed by the British for the British and some Egyptians (and other nationalities) that could afford it. The majority of the teachers were British. The language of instruction was English and classes were identical to the British system (as a youngster I learned how to add and subtract pounds, shillings and pennies).
2. The tuition fees were never enough to sustain the school. The school depended on donations and contributions from wealthy English Earls, Lords, ... etc.
3. There was a great emphasis on sports and the system of Houses. In sports you were encouraged to push your limits and to play in a team as well as to compete individually. Basically, at a young age you learnt all about teamwork and belonging to a House as well as being pushed sometimes to compete against yourself in breaking your old records. For my father, this was very British and was invaluable in building character and he did not think that anything like that existed in the elite Egyptian schools or the many French schools in Egypt at that time. I believe the most valuable lesson I got from the ESC is to always do my best and strive to do things better the next time over.

Now looking back at what happened after the Suez War of 1956:

1. The English School was dissolved by its owners and the British teachers were asked to leave Egypt abruptly by the Egyptian Government (I dont know which happened first). Though most of the British teachers and students disappeared, the 1956/1957 school year was pretty much run like the old times.
2. The GCE local was introduced in 1957 to replace the GCE, and the tuition fees were raised as contributions from wealthy British Earls and Lords ceased, and the contributions from wealthy Egyptians were never enough.
3. In the late 1950s, there was a desperate effort to have as many as possible native English teachers in the Junior School to ensure that proper English accents were transmitted to the children at an early age. At one point in time there was a reluctance to even hire Irish or American teachers least their non-English accents were too much. With time, that effort was not sustainable.
4. Moving along history, the school offered more and more classes in Arabic. As an example, in 1957/1958 we were offered the choice to study History in English or in Arabic. Later it was just given in Arabic. In the early 1960s, the Sunday day off was canceled. There were also less and less wealthy Egyptians with money to spare to the school after the introduction of the 1960s Socialist laws. This led to a slight increase in fees from time to time and a more rapid decline in standards.

In summary, during what I call the transition era (1956-1966), we saw the rapid dismantling of the first and second pillars. Surprisingly, the third pillar (Sports) stayed much longer and collapsed much later, as the school had to put up more new buildings to be able to admit more students and raise more money that was needed to sustain the school.

The present school that resides in the same building that used to be the ESC, has nothing in common with the ESC other than a few old buildings. It is an Egyptian institution of learning managed by Egyptians for Egyptians that are fortunate enough to pay the fees. I have no idea what the language of instruction is today, but whatever it maybe, the curriculum is Egyptian.

So like anything else in this world of ours, things come and go. If the ESC didnt die in 1956, it would have died within a few years of 1956 anyway, for it was the end of another era on a more global scale. Just think who in the UK today would make a donation to a school in Egypt when nowadays a lot of the British Earls and Lords** can hardly keep their own mansions and castles open.

Things have changed in Egypt and all over the world. During my fathers time (born 1901), it was good to have a secondary school certificate to be considered educated and to get a good job. With a Bachelors degree you were on top of the world. Now, all over the world, it is good, if not a must, to have a Bachelors degree and great to have a Ph.D. I believe it was a normal progression for the American University Cairo (AUC) to take over from the ESC (and other foreign schools) as the foreign learning institution of the elite those who can afford to pay and those who get a scholarship.

Best regards to all OBOG from all three eras,

Michael Topsakal


Note: There were other donors besides Earls and Lords, that included untitled individuals as well as institutions.

posted on Sunday, June 27, 2004
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