This was the final exam for Civics and morals in year 1937 for Egypt’s Thanaweya Amma or High school ‘s senior year.
It is in Arabic , so I am sorry for my bad translation
The students have to answer those questions in 1.5 hours
First , the students have to answer the following two questions
- To what extent do you consider the public or general happiness can be used as a scale for goodness and evil ? Explain with examples.
- Why are all the members of Egyptian House of Representatives elected ? What are the qualifications that candidates and voters must have ? What is the wisdom behind those qualifications ? What should be done to ensure the freedom of election and protecting it from any trouble ??
Second , answer two of the questions only from those questions
- Under what circumstances it is better to follow “Mercy triumphs over justice” principle ? and under what circumstances it is not better to follow it !?
- Compare between the condition of an Egyptian family and the condition of its counterpart from a developed nation you choose
- What does a role model mean ? what is its value for the individual and the society ?
I do not know if that exams was civics or political philosophy.
FYI , that exam was one year after the famous Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936 between Egypt and UK
The treaty came after months of protests and strikes led by none other than the Egyptian students movement that demanded the cancellation of the infamous 1930 Constitution as well as Egypt's full independence.
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| A rare photo for those protests in 1936 when Egyptian students encircled the car of Egyptian PM then Nassim Pasha |
Egypt was trying to have a true liberal pluralist political scene then despite all the cons in a way that would shock an Egyptian now.
Also , you must take in consideration that illiteracy rate was sky rocketing in Egypt then. 85.2% of the population were illiterate while our population was only 15.9 million only. The Minister of education then was Ali Zaki Oraby if I am correct.
Was there a model answer for those questions ? Needless to say , I wonder if there is a record for the success rate in the civics for that year.
That civics exam show that Egypt 2022 is like Thousands light years away from Egypt 1937. I do not need to speak about the Civics after the 1952 Coup.
It is enough that this important subject became irrelevant where students only have to learn by heart bunch of model answers to repeat it in the exam like parrots.
Even when it comes to the education system.
This exam shows that they used to teach the students to think critically.
We can have a riot by angry parents outside schools now because students have to use their minds !!
Thousands light years away indeed !!
The presence of critical thinkers in a society is a grave danger to any autocrat in power throughout history. Pre 1952 Egypt was not perfect; it had high levels of illiteracy and poverty, yet it was a truly plural, cosmopolitan and tolerant society. Social mobility was possible, accountability was present, reform was occurring. In my opinion, Egypt was on the course of progress and real development.
ReplyDeleteThe country regressed between 1930 and 1935, but recovered again. In 1952, the country was recovering from a double-blow of the end of WWII, followed by a bitter defeat in the 1948-49 war. This was also followed by a round of political assassinations. I believe if the situation calmed down, and the military "free officers" movement hadn't taken place, things would have been slowly resovled.
Bare in mind, Nasser and his colleagues have probably taken that exam. They were generally well educated and had a taste for modern western culture and arts. If they haven't proceeded with their movement, they are likely to have ascended through the military ranks and eventually took part in the government in a civilized manner.
Of course most of that rhetoric is a hypothetical what-if, but I think this is plausible alternate reality scenario.