subject: Education in the Arab Countries – Part Seven [print this page] Education in the Arab Countries Part Seven
Hasan A. Yahya , a writer from Palestine
Al-Jazeerah reported that Arab countries are lagging behind much of the world in education, according to a UN study released on Monday. This statement was drawn from the Arab Human Development Report 2003 said readership of books was limited, education dictated submission rather than critical thought, and the Arabic language was in a state of crisis.
Rima Khalaf Hunaidi, the UN assistant secretary general and regional director of UNDP's Regional Bureau for Arab states said educational opportunities were being further limited as a post-September 11 anti-Arab backlash made young Arabs retreat from studying in the United States. Arab student numbers according to reports in the United States dropped between 1999 and 2002 by an average 30%.
The UN report that focused on addressing challenges of modernity illustrated how far the 270 million Arabs lagged behind other regions in "acquisition of knowledge" especially in higher education where universities lag behind in curriculum and methods of teaching. Many believe that lack of freedom and traditional management of universities contribute in such educational decay.
The report said even a best selling novel sold on average only 5000 copies compared to hundreds of thousands elsewhere. Some may describe the Arabs as illiterate non-reading people compared with other people in East Asia, Europe, and the United States. Data shows this illiteracy and relates it to the media technologies.
In general, the usual print run for novels ranges from a meager 1000 to 3000 copies. The number of books published in the Arab world did not exceed 1.1% of world production though Arabs constitute 5% of the world population.
It cited official educational curricula in Arab countries that "bred submission, obedience, subordination and compliance rather than free critical thinking."
The UN also touched on the state of Arab universities, decrying lack of autonomy and the direct control of governments that ran them on political whims.
Arab universities were overcrowded with old laboratories and poor libraries. Enrolment figures were a political gesture to appease society more than a product of educational needs.
In terms of publication, the Arabic language was in crisis, as it confronted the challenges of globalization. No more than 10,000 books were translated into Arabic over the entire millennium, equivalent to the number translated every year into Spanish. Research and Development in the Arab world did not exceed 0.2% of Gross National Product (GNP). Fewer than one in 20 Arab university students were pursuing scientific disciplines, compared to one in five in South Korea.
The number of telephone lines in Arab countries was barely one fifth of that in developed countries. Access to digital media was also among the lowest in the world. There are 18 computers per 1000 people compared to a global average of 78. Only 1.6% of over 270 million Arabs have internet access, one of the lowest ratios in the world, the report said.(493 words) www.askdryahya.com
Resources:
- Khaled al-Maeena, "A Report which Should Open Arab Eyes," Arab News, July 5, 2002.
- Rima Khalaf Hunaidi, quoted in a U.N. press release, "U.N. Human Development Report Finds Arab Countries Lagging Behind," July 3, 2002.
