Regional

Pan-Arab Education Reform

At a recent summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a body that links six oil-rich Arab monarchies, Saudi Arabia’s rulers joined in a common pledge to reform religious education across the region.

The Shura Council — the Saudi Parliament whose members are appointed by the king — has passed an education bill that explicitly calls for new emphasis on moderation in religion classes. A 70-strong group of academics and reformers has been appointed to debate reform and suggest remedies. At the last session, the group presented a paper detailing how textbooks inculcate values that conflict with both the modern age and the spirit of Islam. As a result, some textbooks have already been removed from classrooms. The national dialogue calls for further revision of the curriculum to promote the values of tolerance and moderation. But purging textbooks of all incitement will be hard.

Across the region, Islamist hardliners are interpreting change as part of a U.S.-inspired plot to destroy Islam. A review of Kuwait’s religious curriculum has been met by heated protest from fundamentalist parliamentarians. In Jordan, members of Parliament have decried new textbooks that describe suicide attacks on civilians as a form of terrorism. The current tussle over education coincides with a wave of popular anti-Americanism that boosts the appeal of extremist xenophobia. For these reasons, backers of educational reform have been careful to stress that change is needed for reasons other than to placate non-Muslims.

— The Economist
Jan. 24, 2004

U.S. Style Universities Picking Up Some of Slack

With Saudi students finding it increasingly difficult to get U.S. study visas, many are being forced to consider other options. This can be particularly difficult for those who started courses in the United States but are unable to continue their studies there. If they want to transfer their credits, they must find a U.S.-style institution — but outside the United States.

According to the U.S.-based International Institute for Education, approximately 4,000 students — mostly from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Egypt — did not make it to the United States for the start of the 2002-03 academic year. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the U.S administration’s anti-terrorism campaign have made student visas particularly difficult to acquire or renew.

Saudi Arabia was perhaps the hardest-hit country of all — 1,400 fewer students traveled to the United States. However, the American University in Cairo (AUC) and other American universities in Dubai, Sharjah and Beirut are stepping in to fill the gap. The AUC is a liberal arts institution based on the U.S. model of education. Incorporated, licensed and fully accredited in the United States, it functions in Egypt under an agreement between that government and the United States.

— Arab News
Dec. 17, 2003

Bahrain

Manama Awaits New University

A new private university in Bahrain, specializing in information technology and business, is set to open this month. With the establishment of its Manama campus, Kingdom University will be one step nearer to the completion of Phase 1, according to the adviser to the board of trustees, Yousef Abdul Ghaffar. The campus, in the Zinj area, can accommodate 500 students. In December, Ghaffar said work on a second campus, in Hamad Town, was to begin in January.

The university will offer bachelor’s and master’s programs in business administration, information technology, finance and computer science.

— Gulf News
Dec. 12, 2003

Israel

Moldovan University Latest Institution Embroiled in Degree Forgery

Dozens of teachers, principals, psychologists, administrators and social workers from northern Israel are suspected of having knowingly purchased forged master’s and doctoral degrees, purportedly from Ion Creanga Pedagogical University in Moldova. According to police, the university says it has never enrolled any Israeli students and has never opened a branch in Israel.

The fraud squad began investigating the situation several months ago in response to a complaint by the Civil Service Commission. The commission said several government ministries, including the Education and Health ministries, had noticed a surprising stream of diplomas from Ion Creanga University submitted by employees who were either requesting wage increases on the strength of these documents or using them to support an application for promotion. Police questioned dozens of people holding Ion Creanga diplomas. According to Superintendent Herbie Primat, commander of the Northern District Fraud Squad, several of them admitted to having bought the diplomas for US$2,000 to $10,000, depending on the degree and the subject. He said the fraud went on for approximately two years, from 2001 through 2002.

The investigation comes on the heels of a similar investigation into the validity of degrees of about 5,500 government employees suspected of having fictitious diplomas from the Israeli extension of British University of Humberside, the University of Latvia and American Burlington Academy (see Sept/Oct WENR 2003).

— Haaretz
Jan. 19, 2004

Kuwait

Textbooks, Curriculum to Be Revised

Kuwait has decided to revise textbooks and the school curriculum to promote religious tolerance, government officials announced in January. Parliament had been debating the changes announced by Education Minister Rasheed Al Hamad, who said such issues as terrorism had come under scrutiny in the latest selection of new textbooks. Though the minister defended the existing curriculum, he said some pupils could be led astray by the tone and content of some texts. “[Books] should not encourage pupils to hate other people and religions,” Al Hamad said told a Kuwaiti newspaper.

Parliament began debating the revisions after a group of Islamic lawmakers voiced their opposition to the proposed changes. Al Hamad responded by denouncing anyone who sought to “make the young generation think in a fanatic way, which leads them to take aggressive initiatives.” Earlier in January, the Gulf Cooperation Council agreed on educational reform as a way to combat religious extremism among Muslims.

— United Press International
Jan. 2, 2004

American University to Open in September

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Education and the Board of Private Universities granted American University of Kuwait (AUK) its final license on Dec. 17, 2002, paving the way for the university to commence classes this September. The university will comprise three schools: business, engineering and architecture and arts and sciences.

Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., will provide a series of advisory and cooperation ventures over the next five years to help AUK establish itself as Kuwait’s first private, liberal arts university.

— AMIDEAST
Jan. 12, 2004

Lebanon

Baccalaureate Replaced

As of the 2000-01 academic year, the Lebanese General Secondary Certificate (shahaada thaanawiya amma) has replaced the Lebanese baccalaureate. The secondary tracks were also revised. The maximum points possible on the exam are as follows:

• General sciences — 570 points
• Humanities (insaniyaat) — 480 points
• Life sciences (uloum al-hayaat) — 560 points
• Social and economic sciences (uloum iqtisadiya wa ijtima’iya) — 530 points

— AMIDEAST
Jan. 23, 2004

Qatar

New Zealand Organization Consulting on Education Reforms

A New Zealand organization will play a key role in bringing educational reforms to Qatar. Multi Serve Education Trust has reached an agreement with Qatar to help upgrade the oil-rich country’s education system. The reforms include giving considerably more autonomy to some existing schools and to others that have not yet been built.

Initially, Multi Serve will mentor five Qatari schools through an 18-month transition to self-management, providing the schools with input on infrastructure and administration, as well as recruiting teachers and other staff. If this pilot project proves successful, Multi Serve will have broader involvement in the Qatari education system, including the construction of schools. Multi Serve is New Zealand’s leading independent service provider to schools. The Qatar program is the organization’s first multi-school project overseas.

The reforms in Qatar (see March/April 2003 WENR) will focus on autonomy, accountability, parental choice and diversity. By moving away from its previous, more centralized approach, the country hopes to lift educational standards and ensure that young Qataris can fully participate in today’s globalized economy. At the same time, Qatar wants to preserve its values, culture and beliefs.

— Scoop
Jan. 15, 2004

Saudi Arabia

New Medical College Opens

Saudi Arabia’s first private college of dentistry and pharmacy opened Feb. 7. The school’s aim is to provide Saudi professionals in a field now dominated by expatriates. A complete hospital will soon be built to meet the requirements for a university, which is the eventual goal of the founders. According to officials, the college will serve as the nucleus of a future university and will offer courses in all medical branches.

Citing an official study, one of the college owners, Dr. Al-Shamamry, said the kingdom would be able to meet only 40 percent of its needs in medical education by 2020. He also pointed out that there was an acute shortage of facilities for medical education in the country.

The medium of instruction at the new college is English, and admission is open to both Saudis and non-Saudis. Highly qualified professors are being recruited for the new college, which will also have a Web site for hosting lectures and facilitating interaction between the college and its counterparts in other countries.

— Arab News
Jan. 20, 2004

Education Reform Moves Forward

Interior Minister Prince Naif recently stated that the aims of Saudi Arabia’s educational reforms, announced in November, are the enhancement of Islamic values, the promotion of moderation and the strengthening of the concepts of flexibility and respect for the opinions of others. The reforms also aim to put greater emphasis on the need for scientific and technical training to meet the future needs of the labor market, government officials have stated. In November, the government allocated funds for the training of 100,000 Saudis and announced the establishment of 20 new technical colleges for 60,000 students and of 39 technical training institutes for 40,000 students.

The educational-reform process is being supervised by a high-level committee of academics and experts. Officials have said the committee has already completed the required study and forwarded its recommendations to a decision-making level for the benefit of the national educational process. Saudi officials have also denied reports recently that they are under pressure from the United States and other Western countries to change the national curriculum, pointing out that the kingdom is revising the curriculum for the educational development of its people and that the decision was its own.

— Arab News
Jan. 22, 2004

Syria

Military Withdrawn From Universities

Syria’s cabinet has issued a decree formally ending the half-century-old militarization of higher education. The decision, which is being applied to all colleges and universities in Syria, will result in the disbanding of the Military Training Board and the removal of all military personnel and equipment. Courses in political and military indoctrination taught by military officers, under the auspices of campus branches of the Training Board, will also be abolished.

Mandatory military training for college students previously had occupied one day of each week of the academic year. Syrian scholars say they are encouraged by the new openness and focus on studies.

— The Chronicle of Higher Education
Dec. 19, 2003

3 Private Universities Licensed Under New Private Education Law

The country’s first two private universities were issued licenses in August under the nation’s 2001 Private Education Law, and a third was licensed in September. Qalamon University, being established in Deir Attyoeh, and Maamoun Private University for Sciences and Technology, being established in Hasaka province with a branch in Aleppo, were licensed in August. A private university of science and arts, as yet unnamed, is also being established in Aleppo.

— Syria Live
Sept. 24, 2003

Tunisia

Newly Established Private Sector Growing

Since 2000, 17 private schools have been accredited, four of which opened this academic year. These actions were in response to serious overcrowding and underfunding at public institutions of higher education. In 2000, the government adopted legislation allowing for state regulation and recognition of private institutions of higher education, which it hoped would ease the strain on state schools.

In 2002, there were 270,000 students enrolled in the Tunisian higher education system; in 2003, there were more than 300,000. That figure is projected to near 500,000 by 2010. Government officials hope the private sector will be able to help fill the gap, and that in three years 30,000 students will be enrolled in private schools. To ensure the quality of credentials and learning outcomes, and in line with a July 2001 education law, successful completion of the baccalaureate is a prerequisite for entry to newly accredited private schools of higher education.

A list of licensed private higher education institutions can be found at: www.universites.tn/anglais/divers/enseignement_prive/prive2.htm

— La Presse
Nov. 10, 2003

The United Arab Emirates

Second Australian Campus Launched

The University of Wollongong’s second Dubai campus was launched in December. The university’s international arm, Illawarra Technology Corp., opened its first campus in Dubai nine years ago, when other Australian universities were heading to Asia. It is still the only Western university with its own campus in the UAE. The new campus is situated in the government-funded “knowledge village” — a 395-acre technology park that also houses media and Internet “cities” (see July/August WENR 2003).

— The Australian
Nov. 26, 2003

Indian Entrance Exam Available in Dubai

Dubai will become the first overseas center for the All-Indian Engineering and Medical Entrance Examinations. The decision to make Dubai a center for the 2004 exams grew out of strong demand for such a facility by Dubai’s large minority Indian population. The examinations will be conducted directly by the Commissioner of Entrance Examinations and supervised by the Indian consulate in Dubai. Interested candidates can log on to www.cee-kerala.org and download the forms.

The Kerala state government has also proposed starting courses equivalent to the Secondary School Leaving Certificates, in the wake of a new regulation in the UAE that stipulates such a certificate is a minimum education qualification for a laborer.

— Gulf News
Dec. 9, 2003