CAIRO (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Minister of Higher Education and the State for Scientific Research Hani Hillal on Saturday said that Egyptian public universities will start applying international education quality standards as of July.

Addressing the inaugural session of the international conference of the National Authority for Guaranteeing Education Quality, Hillal termed quality education as a prerequisite for education for sustainable development.

The Egyptian minister highlighted the importance of quality education for Egyptian educational institutions to stand on "the same footing" with their international peers, as well as its role for Egypt and its labor force to be able to survive in today's highly competitive and fast-developing world.

The number of Egyptian state-owned educational institutions that have started implementing the program to apply quality standards since it was first launched two years ago will rise to a total of 170 faculties, he added.