Japanese

On April 28, 2026, a signing ceremony for a trilateral agreement on educational cooperation for a financial literacy curriculum was held at the Egyptian Exchange in Cairo, Egypt, between Hiroshima University (HU), the Ministry of Education and Technical Education of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and SPRIX Inc. The agreement was signed by H.E. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education; Hiroyuki Tsuneishi, President and Representative Director of SPRIX Inc.; and HU President Mitsuo Ochi. The ceremony was also attended by H.E. Ahmed Kouchouk, Minister of Finance; H.E. Mohamed Farid Saleh, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade; H.E. Ahmed Rostom, Minister of Planning and Economic Development; and Omar Radwan, Chairperson of the Egyptian Exchange, and was witnessed by Yasuhiro Tsukamoto, Minister of the Embassy of Japan in Egypt. Representing HU, Executive Vice President for Global Initiatives Shinji Kaneko also attended the ceremony.

This initiative represents the first nationwide attempt in Egypt to introduce financial literacy education for high school students and is regarded as a highly significant undertaking. Through practical learning that goes beyond theory, the program aims to cultivate students’ economic decision-making skills and foundational understanding of investment.

The Egyptian government positions this initiative as a qualitative transformation in education. Minister of Education and Technical Education Mohamed Abdel Latif described the initiative as a shift toward student-centered, practice-oriented learning. In response, Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk emphasized that education is a top national priority and expressed his expectations that such innovative initiatives would constitute an investment in the future. Furthermore, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Mohamed Farid Saleh and Minister of Planning and Economic Development Ahmed Rostom also expressed their recognition that the agreement would contribute to enhancing the capabilities of younger generations and fostering economic awareness.

Under this collaboration, HU will participate as the academic partner and will be responsible for verifying the academic validity of TOFAS (Test of Fundamental Academic Skills), an international basic academic proficiency assessment developed by SPRIX Inc., as well as ensuring the reliability of its evaluation system. In addition, HU will provide international expertise in educational assessment and learning analytics, thereby contributing to the improvement of educational quality and the promotion of equitable educational opportunities in Egypt.

At the signing ceremony, President Ochi made reference to the cooperation agreement on TOFAS in the fields of AI and programming concluded among the three parties in October last year, and introduced the achievement that the number of Egyptian high school students taking TOFAS had exceeded one million. He further stated that this new agreement would expand those efforts into the field of financial literacy, and expressed HU’s commitment to contributing to the improvement of the quality of basic education and the promotion of educational equity in Egypt.

Through this agreement, HU will build upon the trust and achievements cultivated through its longstanding partnerships and collaborations, and will continue contributing to the further advancement of educational reform and human resource development in Egypt.