| In the years before
the Revolution, especially after 1936, various distinguished scholars
and a few political leaders had analyzed the unhealthy aspects of Egyptian
society and government, and had begun to map out a comprehensive cure for
the economic and social ills which they had diagnosed.
Outstanding among these
leaders were Dr. Taha Husayn, the dynamic minister
of education;
Dr. Ahmad Husayn, of the Ministry of
Social Affairs; and `Abd al-Rahman al-Bialy, founder
of the Egyptian Labor Party in 1946, and Mirriyt Ghaliy
Bey, a member of the non-partisan scientific organization known as
theGroupement de relèvement national. The little publicized
group of reformers, who organized the Ruwad (Pioneers)
Society as early as
1925, had first prepared themselves by study
in European universities and then, upon their return to Egypt, had
thrown themselves with ardor into planning and working for the social and
economic betterment of their country.
Between 1941
and 1946, experimental centers were founded in eleven widely separated
villages. Their marked success among the villagers caused the government
to extend the project throughout all the rural districts of Egypt.
When al-Nahhas
took over early in 1950, much of the pressure on King Faruwq
had eased. Terrorism was abating, and for a time there was an era of good
feeling as the nation groped back toward a normal life. There was a well-founded
hope that the Wafd party would at last steer the country along the
road to reform and stability. Al-Nahhas Pasha formed a cabinet
of some of the best talents the Arab world had ever produced including
the foremost members of the Ruwad (the pioneers)
society.
Minister of Social
Affairs was Dr. Ahmad Husayn (not to be confused with
the leader of Misr al-Fatah; Young Egypt),
a dedicated man with a brilliant record in social welfare work. One of
his first acts as minister was introduction of a sweeping system of social
security al-ta'miynat al-Igtima`iyah in Egypt.
Minister of Education
was Dr. Taha Husayn who immediately introduced free,
compulsory education in Egypt. He coined the famous phrase that
"Education
like air and water is the right of every Egyptian". Also in the government
was the gifted Minister of Finance Muhammad Zakiy `Abd al-Mut`al,
the statesmanlike Foreign Minister Muhammad
Salah al-Diyn,
and many others of their caliber.
By 1950, 136
rural social centers were in existence, each of which served 10,000
peasants. The peasants had first to request the organization of a rural
center. They had to agree to give land, some of their savings, and
their labor for its establishment. Coordinated services of the Ministries
of Public Health, Agriculture, and Education, combined in each case with
the active collaboration of the peasantry, provided each center with interrelated
programs of rural education, health, and welfare. The centers provided
medical and maternity clinics and instruction in the benefits of pure drinking
water and rudimentary sanitation. Agricultural advice was given and agricultural
experiments were carried on through cooperative societies.
The centers further provided
adult education and sometimes schools, recreation grounds for the young
people, assembly halls, and libraries. Thus, practically all phases of
village life were affected and generally benefited.
It was not long, however,
before this strain of idealism was submerged in a sea of corruption. Wafdist
politicians began making money hand over fist. Every possible trick was
used to manipulate trade and commerce in the interests of those in power.
The cabinet would vote sharp controls on the export of certain commodities.
The price would fall, the Wafdists would buy. The cabinet then would lift
the controls. The price would go up, and the friends of the Wafd
would sell. Two pashas cornered the Alexandria cotton market. The
cabinet pushed through retroactive legislation legalizing the deal. It
was a big haul, with ample profit for all who helped secure the corner.
While Wafdists and
government officials grew fat on speculation, the general economy of the
country deteriorated. Cost of living spiraled upward, unemployment spread.
Economic unrest led to political agitation. One by one the "idealist
pioneers " left the government in disillusionment -Ahmad
Husayn,
Taha
Husayn,
Zakiy `Abd al-Mut`al.
Once again the reviving
Muslim
Brotherhood and Young Egypt (renamed the Socialist
Party) were in the streets. The Wafd was being attacked by the
mobs it once led. Al-Nahhas government was losing its
grip. Few months later the Egyptian Monarchy was toppled by the 1952
Revolution.
Many founding members
of the Ruwad Society were appointed to the first cabinet
of the Revolutionary Government in 1952. The Egyptian Association
for Social Studies, founded in 1937, organized the Cairo School
of Social Work and conducted various experiments in rural welfare and urban
problems.
`Aliy Mahir Pasha, chairman of that association,
became the first premier of the Revolution in August, 1952.
All these men and
groups did the spadework for the reforms that were eventually carried out
by the R.C.C. The organic connection between the social reformers
of the 1930's and those of the Revolution has been demonstrated
in various progressive legislative enactments. For instance, an extended
program of free public education, through secondary school, was actually
adopted in 1950.
The "development"
budgets of the Revolutionary Government made it possible to allocate an
increasingly large proportion of the national income to education.
Literacy in Egypt
increased from approximately ten per cent in 1938 to some
thirty per cent in 1953, and the school population grew from
1,500,000
in 1949 to 2,300,000 in 1953. A third state university
was established in Cairo in 1950, and the construction of
a fourth state university was begun in Asiyuwt.
A unique experiment
in adult education was also embarked upon in 1945. The "People's
University," later renamed Ma`had al-Thaqafah al-Sha`biyah
(the Institute for Popular Culture), offered courses in social
science, history, music, the graphic and manual arts, journalism, and special
subjects such as photography, hygiene, and social welfare. Education for
the blind was also provided.
All classes of Egyptians
were admitted to this Institute without any prerequisites. By 1953
the Institute for Popular Culture had 16 urban centers with an enrollment
of well over 15,000 men and women. A significant example of
coordinated welfare services for the economically depressed two thirds
of the population of Egypt may be found in the Ministry of Social
Affairs, established in
1939. The Fallah Department
of this new Ministry, under the direction of Dr. Ahmad
Husayn,
planned and carried out notable reforms on behalf of the peasantry. Among
its earliest pioneer projects was the launching of the rural social centers
(later known as rural social welfare) which eventually won international
recognition.
By mid 1955, under
the Revolution,
180 rural social centers were fully equipped and
functioning, and many more had been started. The Ministry of Education
went full speed on an ambitious program of building "a school a day,"365
new
schools a year. The Revolutionary government requisitioned any villas
not actually occupied by owners to turn into schools. Many a beautiful
flower garden was trampled down by boisterous school children, and many
a well-waxed parquet floor was scarred beyond belief as a new generation
of Egyptian youth fought for education.
In the seventies,
Anwar
al-Sadat had decided to forgo `Abd al-Nasir's
state
socialism in favor of a return to a freer form of economic system more
akin to capitalism. The public sector was being dismantled and private
enterprise not necessarily filling the void especially when it came to
attention to rural matters.  The
excuse was blamed on overpopulation and the decline of agriculture which
has been a progressive depopulation of the countryside and an increasing
of urbanization. Subsequently, the emphasis on maintaining and promoting
rural social centers was slowly being reduced and finally shelved altogether.
The last 30 years,
the Infitah open door policy had a disastrous impact
in slowing the fight of eradicating illiteracy in Egypt. This lagging
could be easily gauged by the latest statistics on literacy which accounts
to 57.7% (July 2003 est.) male: 68.3%
& female: 46.9%. of a population estimated at 74,718,797.
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