Al-Sisi launches ‘intellectual clubs’ for young Egyptians

The Egyptian ministry of education is to launch a series of “intellectual clubs” in all primary and secondary schools to teach pupils special courses with the intention of immunising them against extremist ideologies, Arabi21 has reported. It is also hoped that young people will be diverted away from conspiracies against the state.

The ministry added that the presidency has announced the start of registration for a leadership programme for university students to teach them about the fourth and fifth generation wars, which, it is claimed, plan to destroy Egypt.

Speaking to military studies students last week, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi warned them about “dangerous information” and psychological war. He announced measures to educate Egyptians against such threats.

According to Arabi21, the government has said that the programme’s goal is to produce youth leaders with a strategic vision through studying administration, politics, information and human development sciences. The programme will last for eight months and will serve 2,500 young people in the first stage; graduates will be qualified to take up political and administrative positions within the state infrastructure.

Monitors and analysts claim that Al-Sisi is repeating experiments carried out by former dictators like Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin, who attempted to implant loyalty to their regimes in the minds of school students by controlling the syllabus in use. Former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser carried out similar measures in the 1960s with the programme of “pioneering organisation” to produce youth leadership followers of his regime. This programme produced the political leaders who occupied the main positions in Egypt during the Mubarak era.