In Egypt, is ignorance a matter of choice or destiny? (Mohammed Nosseir, Al Arabiya)

Decades of persistent failure to advance our country from a developing nation into a knowledgeable, developed society has led many people to the erroneous conclusion that ignorance is Egypt’s destiny! Yet quite the reverse is true. I believe Egyptians deliberately seek to avoid the truth; they replace fact with fiction to avoid facing reality, thereby creating an ignorant society in which every citizen claims, falsely, to be well-informed! Actually, I believe an ignorant society is the reflection of an authoritarian state that perceives knowledge as a threat to the autocratic ruler.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2016/02/09/In-Egypt-is-ignorance-a-matter-of-choice-or-destiny-.html