Saturday, 16 February, 2008
In an article in today’s Gulf News, “Oops! The man can’t read,” the following remark is made by Fawaz Turki (Arab journalist, lecturer and author) about the challenging state of affairs with regard to education in the Arab world: “Unless Arab countries make the improvement of their educational system a top priority, because education goes hand-in-hand with economic development and social progress, Arabs will continue to fail in meeting the challenges of modernity.” Bear in mind that 60% of the population of the Arab region is under 30 years of age! Here are some background facts to put the above statement in context:
[1] The countries of the Arab world, in 2005, together produced 13,444 scientific publications. This is fewer than the 15,455 published by Harvard University alone.
[2] The Arab-based Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation reported that 30% of the approximately 300 million people in the Arab world were illiterate.
[3] Another alarming statistic is quoted. It is pointed out that by the end of the 20th century the Gross National Product per capita of all Arab countries combined was slightly more than that of Spain, a country with only 15% of the population of the Arab world.
[4] Turki further points out that countries like the UAE have created a $10 billion (Dh36.7 billion) foundation to establish research centres in Arab universities, but he reminds us that there are still elementary and secondary schools in Yemen, for example, with classes holding 100 students each. In Morocco there are also many schools where teachers are themselves barely literate. [These two countries are named in the World Bank report as "the worst educational reformers".]
What is abundantly clear is that expat teachers like me have their work cut out for them. Ours is a noble task anywhere and in any situation, but here in the Gulf it takes on special significance.
More about this article can be found at: http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/region/10190051.html
In an article in today’s Gulf News, “Oops! The man can’t read,” the following remark is made by Fawaz Turki (Arab journalist, lecturer and author) about the challenging state of affairs with regard to education in the Arab world: “Unless Arab countries make the improvement of their educational system a top priority, because education goes hand-in-hand with economic development and social progress, Arabs will continue to fail in meeting the challenges of modernity.” Bear in mind that 60% of the population of the Arab region is under 30 years of age! Here are some background facts to put the above statement in context:
[1] The countries of the Arab world, in 2005, together produced 13,444 scientific publications. This is fewer than the 15,455 published by Harvard University alone.
[2] The Arab-based Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation reported that 30% of the approximately 300 million people in the Arab world were illiterate.
[3] Another alarming statistic is quoted. It is pointed out that by the end of the 20th century the Gross National Product per capita of all Arab countries combined was slightly more than that of Spain, a country with only 15% of the population of the Arab world.
[4] Turki further points out that countries like the UAE have created a $10 billion (Dh36.7 billion) foundation to establish research centres in Arab universities, but he reminds us that there are still elementary and secondary schools in Yemen, for example, with classes holding 100 students each. In Morocco there are also many schools where teachers are themselves barely literate. [These two countries are named in the World Bank report as "the worst educational reformers".]
What is abundantly clear is that expat teachers like me have their work cut out for them. Ours is a noble task anywhere and in any situation, but here in the Gulf it takes on special significance.
More about this article can be found at: http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/region/10190051.html
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