One afternoon at an elementary school on the outskirts of Cairo, first-grade Egyptian students were busy wiping their desks clean and sweeping the floor with brooms under the supervision of teaching staff. The scene, observed recently by a Japan International Cooperation Agency official, represents one of the class activities in a curriculum based on the Japanese education method that emphasizes moral training and social harmony, in addition to acquiring academic skills. At more than 40 Japanese-style schools launched in Egypt since 2018 in partnership with the Japanese government, children tidy up their classrooms and common areas, take turns helping the class for the day and have designated times to reflect on how they spend their day, in what experts call a "holistic" approach to schooling.
The project came after President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi visited a Tokyo elementary school during a trip to Japan in 2016. In a country where cleaning is regarded as a vocation for low-paid workers, tasking students with tidying up school facilities initially raised the eyebrows of some parents. But the Japanese-style education is fast winning recognition as Egyptian students started showing a sense of responsibility and cooperation outside of the school setting, such as offering to help out at home, said Mizuki Matsuzaki, who until recently served as deputy chief of JICA's Egypt office.