Cairo A door through which no one can enter except with a ruler. Government jobs in Egypt have almost completely stopped 9 years ago, on the pretext of high inflation in the state’s administrative apparatus, high wage expenditures and their negative impact on the public budget, despite the large deficit in vital sectors such as education and health.
It seems that the closed door will be deflected a little by the Egyptian government’s announcement – through Finance Minister Mohamed Maait during his speech before the House of Representatives – the state’s intention to provide 70,000 government jobs in many specialties during the next fiscal year 2023/2024 to bridge the deficit.
The Egyptian government allocated 3.7 billion pounds (the dollar equals 30.9 pounds) to appoint 30,000 teachers, 30,000 doctors and pharmacists, in addition to appointing 10,000 employees in various sectors of the state, in addition to allocating half a billion pounds to conduct the movement of promotions of state workers.
The share of wages and salaries decreased to 15% of the size of the new general budget instead of 25% in the budget of previous years, and included the allocation of 470 billion pounds for wages to improve the conditions of state workers.
The government succeeded in reducing the number of employees, and years ago the Central Agency for Organization and Administration put plans to reduce the number to 4 million employees compared to about 6 million, so that there would be one employee for every 26 citizens instead of one employee for every 13.5 citizens.
In February 2016, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that there are 7 million employees, of whom the government needs only one million employees, and blamed the revolution of January 25, 2011 for hiring a million employees due to popular pressure.
Appointment via Military College
Appointment and promotion procedures in the government this time differ from previous ones, after the introduction of an unprecedented condition that obliges everyone to take a qualification course at the Military Academy in Cairo for a period of 6 months.
According to the Mada Masr (independent) website, a periodic letter was issued by the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers at the end of last April, regarding the qualification certificate issued by the Center for Issuing Insured Documents after completing the course, as one of the reasons for appointment in all ministries and affiliated agencies.
Government sources in the Ministries of Planning and Education, who did not name them, revealed that the Military College had, for several months, had the first say in promotions and appointments within the state’s administrative apparatus.
A source in the Ministry of Education confirmed that passing the qualifying course at the Military College “Educational Leadership and National Security Diploma” has become the main condition for promotion in all positions within the ministries, explaining that obtaining this course is preceded by many procedures and tests.
Later, the Egyptian Minister of Education, Reda Hegazy, revealed that a number of teachers had been given comprehensive training with full residency for a period of 6 months as part of the presidential initiative to select a thousand school principals from among young teachers, provided that those who pass this program will be granted the “Educational Leadership and National Security Diploma.” Without explaining the nature of that course, he considered it necessary to choose the most qualified, he said.
Staff mobilization
A labor researcher described the new procedures as “heresy” and said, “They do not exist within the official justifications for appointment in the Civil Service Law, and the emergence of the Military College within the terms of employment and promotion by obtaining a military qualification course for a period of 6 months, and for it to be a place for conducting personal interviews is not legal.” .
The researcher (preferred not to be named) added, in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, that the aim of these new conditions is not to increase security and national awareness of the new employees, “insofar as it is to ensure a functional bloc supportive of the authority, and the mobilization of the civil servant.”
Immunization of employees
In a precedent of its kind and in an unusual scene, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi attended, from last February to last April, more than one test at the Military Academy to select employees in the Ministry of Transport and Education, in the presence of the Minister of Defense and a number of military leaders and concerned civilian ministers.
In his response to what might be raised about the militarization of civilian sectors by following this new mechanism, the Minister of Transport, Lieutenant General Kamel Al-Wazir, said, “Welcome to militarization, if the selection of employees will be according to this method.” The railway is one of their evils.
According to the minister, these exams, which are similar to those of military academies, include conducting technical exams, and at a next stage, medical and psychological exams at the Military College, and then taking a 6-month training course at the College of Military Technology, to ensure the weight of their expertise on several levels such as technology and national security.
state vision
In addition to the above, security investigations are being conducted by the intelligence and national security services about these applicants, “which ensures that the employee belongs to Egypt and not to any other party,” according to Egyptian journalist Ahmed Moussa, who is close to the security services.
After the graduation of one of the batches from the Military Academy last February, the Egyptian Minister of Transport stressed the importance of these courses, “which come within the framework of the Egyptian state’s vision in order to create new generations of Egyptians who are able to work, according to the highest standards of self-discipline and the high scientific level of service.” country in various fields.
On the other hand, former Labor MP Tariq Morsi considered that obligating applicants to civil jobs or new promotions in the civil sectors to take courses in the Military College is a precedent in the history of appointment and promotion in Egypt, and is not provided for by the Civil Service Law, and goes beyond the role of legislators in the House of Representatives. .
In statements to Al-Jazeera Net, he confirmed that it is not one of the tasks of the Military Academy, the Military College, or any military entity to grant licenses to civilian workers.
He wondered, “Why did the Military College and military institutions become as if they were the Expediency Discernment Council and became the ones that issue the deed of patriotism, and the citizen remains in doubt about his patriotism and affiliation until he takes the deed of innocence after attending the military qualification course.”
plug
Despite the new condition in the appointment procedures, the Egyptian government’s announcement of hiring 70,000 employees would alleviate the severe shortage crisis in some specializations related to important sectors such as education and health.
The Egyptian government had recently decided to violate its strict directions to prevent government appointments, and put in place a “five-year” plan to fill the huge deficit, which is estimated at 324 thousand teachers, or 30%, in the number of teachers.
The health sector is also suffering from a decline in the number of doctors. Representative Farid al-Bayadhi estimated the number of workers in the Ministry of Health hospitals and in government and private university hospitals affiliated with Al-Azhar University to be about 82,000 doctors, and they are supposed to be more than 200,000 doctors, with a deficit rate of more than 50% of the basic force. for doctors in Egypt.
The number of doctors who obtained a license to practice the profession amounted to about 212,835 doctors in all health sectors, of whom only 82,000 work in the public and private sectors, or about 38% of the number of registered doctors only working in the health sector.
