Photos of Phones and Cosmetics Seized From Hurghada Pupils' Bags Spark a Parent Backlash
A Hurghada language school searched pupils' bags and posted pictures of what it found on Facebook. Parents say the display looked like a police seizure statement — and that they should have been told the rules first.
28 September 2026
Photographs of mobile phones, toys, cosmetics and metal rulers laid out after a bag search at one of Hurghada's official language schools have turned into a row between the school and parents, according to el-Nabaa.
The school searched pupils' bags, then announced what it had found and published photographs of the items on its official Facebook page. Abeer Ahmed, founder of the Egyptian Mothers' Union for the Advancement of Education and of the Parents' Coalition, said the episode had caught the attention of parents and social media users alike — and that the argument was not only about what was confiscated, but about the way the school chose to announce it.
The way the items were laid out for the camera, she said, led some followers to compare the pictures to the way seized goods are displayed in crime reports and security statements. That, she said, opened a wider discussion among parents about how searches are carried out inside schools and how staff should handle what pupils bring in.
Parents answering on the union's Facebook page were split:
- One said confiscating mobile phones was understandable given the ban on using them in schools, but suggested pupils be allowed simple handsets without cameras so they can reach their families when they need to.
- Another said some of the items, such as cosmetics and perfume, could be personal belongings that girls genuinely need, and asked the school to separate those from things that actually break its rules.
- A third backed searches in principle, but said each one should be preceded by a clear notice to pupils and parents listing what is banned, and follow a regular, stated procedure.
The report does not name the school, does not say when the search took place, and carries no response from the school or from the Red Sea education directorate.
For Hurghada families it is the latest in a run of disputes with the coast's language schools this term, after objections to German being replaced by French and to the shortage of German teachers for new pupils. What parents are asking for here is narrower: to be told the rules before their children's bags are opened.