The International Schools Review Forum

Sorry for cross-posting this on the open & member forum, but I'm keen to get some responses.

My partner and I are considering a move to Egypt to work at a school in New Cairo City and various people we've asked have either said it's great or it's dreadful - nobody's ambivalent!

The major concerns voiced are safety and money - stability of the local currency and ability to send savings home.

Can anyone offer any advice?

Me, personally, no. But I have friends who absolutely love(d) it. And others who fled as soon as they reasonably could. The haters are the majority.
I've visited as part of an accreditation team and again to lead a 3-day workshop, so I've seen a little of the country and a little of two schools. Between that, and what my friends shared, I wouldn't go.
It's crowded, dirty and busy. Infrastructure (roads and bridges and buildings) are poorly built and undermaintained, so unsafe. There is little social security, and deep poverty is evident almost everywhere. Beggars and tourist-mongers are very aggressive. Personal security is a worry.
I have not found anyone credible willing to claim that their school is a good one for kids or teachers. At best, they seem to be medium. (No aspersions on anyone's individual classroom, just an overall observation.) Then again, I don't know everyone, so it's fully possible there is a gem I don't know about.
Good luck.

bradwen85 wrote:
> Sorry for cross-posting this on the open & member forum, but I'm keen
> to get some responses.
>
> My partner and I are considering a move to Egypt to work at a school in New
> Cairo City and various people we've asked have either said it's great or
> it's dreadful - nobody's ambivalent!
>
> The major concerns voiced are safety and money - stability of the local
> currency and ability to send savings home.
>
> Can anyone offer any advice?

I would seriously question anyone who said it was "great". What specifically makes it great (as opposed to survivable, doable, aspects of it were interesting, intriguing, different, etc)? We were there for a year before the revolution and it was just fine, for a year, maybe two. It was safer then and cheaper and there were aspects that we enjoyed (e.g. cost of living, travel, cultural sites/antiquities, people were generally very nice, etc).

From what I read and hear from people there and/or have worked there more recently I would give it a pass. Maybe doable if you are desperate to work internationally (and do not have any kids).

I would pass unless you had a very concise plan that allowed you to take a shortcut through IE (like you could negotiate a one year contract and then a preferential transfer or inside hire to a better IS in a different area), or if you are just rally drawn to Egyptian history/culture and you breath this kind of environment.

Let me put it to you this way- I would take a job in Venezuela before I took a job in Egypt.

If it's your first IE experience, and depending on the school, it might be worth considering. Egypt is an OK place to start out - it's only a few hours flight from Europe (1 hour if you include Cyprus) so it's easy to get out if you need to, the areas where schools are (especially New Cairo - where I'm writing this now) are relatively safe. I've felt more threatened on a Saturday night in Glasgow than here. The weather is always good, you can easily escape to the Red Sea resorts or Sharm, and food is - currently - generally very cheap. Getting money out of the country has been quite easy - the banks will transfer, and friends have not had a problem taking cash out (if you have lots, it's quite easy to buy gold which has no restriction!) I would agree that it's not "great", though some people still love it, but it's doable for a couple of years.

The key problem just now is currency - what you have to ask the school is the currency you will be paid in, and what % is in LE - it should be in the contract they offer you, if it isn't then right now I would decline and explain clearly why. Schools are having problems getting parents to pay just now because the devaluation of the LE against the £ and $ means that fees are twice as much as they were. Try to find out what the school is saying to parents about this (if anything) as this might give you an inkling of whether the school will be around in August or not. Is it as bad as Venezuela? No - it may get things wrong frequently, but the government is still by and large in control. Prices are going up, but not remotely near 700% inflation in Venezuela. It's probably more like Britain in the 1970s at the moment.

No.

Thanks for all of your replies - they pretty much mirror what we've been told so far. Just a couple of things to clarify:

We're an unmarried couple, but could easily sort that before we moved. No kids. We're currently on our first international post in Taiwan (which by the sounds of it couldn't be less like Egypt!), but my partner is on a local contract so she gets no benefits & effectively a 50% cut in salary. We're both pretty easy-going people - she's a third culture Canadian who grew up in Syria and I loved a two year posting to a speck of an island where food shortages & power cuts were the norm.

What we're weighing up is another two years here in Taiwan, or a move for a possible extra 20-30k GBP per year into the mortgage pot. Interviews are coming up so hopefully the school will be able to shed some light on the payment situation - the info about the fluctuating local currency is a big concern of ours.

Thanks again, all!