Educational Challenges For The Muslim Ummah In The 21st Century
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Transcript of Educational Challenges For The Muslim Ummah In The 21st Century
Professor Rafik BeekunUniversity of NevadaThe Islamic Workplace Bloghttp://
makkah.wordpress.comAll rights reserved, copyrighted @2009 by Dr. Rafik Beekun
TIMSS or Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (1999, 2003 and 2007)
World Bank’s 2008 MENA Development Report: The Road Not Traveled: Education Reform in the Middle East and North Africa
UNESCO Institute for Statistics Intel Science Fair 2009 results.
Brings together best high school students in the world from 9th through 12th grade (about 1,500) from over 30 countries.
$1 million in scholarships, tuition grants, etc. Administered by Society for Science and the
Public since 1950. Incubator for future leading scientists and
engineers and potential Nobel prize winners. Results: no Muslim as the top winner in any
category.
Illiteracy rate and poor standards (World Bank, 2008) Best: Jordan & Kuwait Worst: Djibouti, Yemen, Iraq and Morocco
Study of Arab league: 30% of Arab population are illiterate.
0.3% of GDP of Arab States is devoted to scientific research.
$5-7 per capita is spent on R&D in Arab States. $1000 per capita is spent on R&D in China. 600 research centers in Arab world vs 1500 in
France alone. 30% of scientists in the US are from Arab
countries.
Area 1960 1980 2000
MENA 1.25 3.05 5.39
East Asia 3.44 5.4 7.28
Lat. Amer. 3.87 5.49 7.21
Country Av Test Score GDP/Capita 2003
Secondary Gross Enrollment 2000
Malaysia 514 8,986 70
Lebanon 433 4,793 80
Jordan 426 4,081 87
Iran 420 6,608 77
Tunisia 420 6,765 77
Indonesia 409 3,175 57
Egypt 406 3,731 86
Bahrain 401 17,212 96
Kuwait 392 17,049 89
Morocco 362 3,783 40
Saudi Arabia 332 12,495 72
Int’l Average 489
Top perf countries
617
Country Mean Knowing
Mean Applying
Mean Reasoning
Malaysia 478 476 467
Lebanon 448 464 429
Jordan 422 431 440
Iran 401 403 426
Tunisia 423 420 425
Indonesia 398 396 405
Egypt 393 392 396
Bahrain 402 394 413
Kuwait 361 347 N.A.
Morocco 389 364 383
Saudi Arabia 335 307 N.A.
Turkey 424 439 441
Singapore 593 581 579
United States 502 513 504
Country Mean Knowing
Mean Applying
Mean Reasoning
Malaysia 473 458 487
Lebanon 422 402 420
Jordan 485 490 470
Iran 454 468 461
Tunisia 444 440 455
Indonesia 424 425 438
Egypt 403 434 395
Bahrain 467 468 468
Kuwait 416 429 410
Morocco 399 395 412
Saudi Arabia 403 417 359
Turkey 449 461 462
Singapore 567 553 564
United States 515 512 528
Country Primary Seconday Tertiary
Malaysia 0.94 5.3 32.7
Lebanon 64.7 51.9 49.3
Jordan 29.9 16.6 24.7
Iran 4.3 5.7 54.1
Tunisia 1.0 3.9 0.4
Indonesia 16.3 42.9 65.2
Egypt 8.0 5.5 16.5
Kuwait 32.3 27.6 ___
Morocco 5.5 4.6 5.1
Saudi Arabia 6.9 7.3 7.4
MENA Overall 19.8 13.7 23.6
East Asia 8.2 22.8 52.5
Lat. America 20.8 25.5 49.6
In the case of Saudi Arabia, average student skill during school is low and this has had a significant influence on the caliber of students opting for university. In 2007, an international mathematics and science study (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) of 8th graders revealed that KSA high school students overwhelmingly demonstrated below benchmark levels of skill (little or no skill) in mathematics (82%) and science (48%).
Challenges Rising demand to admit more students Difficulties in meeting outcome quality in relation to
work force needs Difficulties in securing more resources.
Opportunities Missed Centralized Control Privatization of higher education not an option No independent higher education accrediting and
evaluating system Poor treatment of female and expatriate university
faculty.
M/F Primary Enrolment
M/F Secondary Enrolment
M/F Tertiary Enrolment
92% 33% 5%
•% of children completing primary school = 63%
•Literacy rate among youths = 69.2%
•Pupil/teacher ratio = 40
•% of government spending on education = 11.2%
Country Primary Enrolmt
Second Enrolmt
Tertiary Enrolmt
Literacy Youths (%)
Pupil-teacher Ratio
% govt exp on Ed
Pakistan
92 33 5 69.2 40 11.2
Jordan 96 89 40 99 20 20.6
Saudi Arabia
98 94 N.A. 97 11 27.6
Palestine
80** 92 46 99 30 N.A.
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA : Linkage between education and skills relevant for labor
market is weak vs knowledge economy. Decrease in mortality and increase in life expectancy led
to a population bubble with ½ of arab population now under 30, and system is overloaded.
Quality of education is poor—as shown by TIMSS & PISA Scores—because 1. No culture of assessment and accountability in
education2. Morocco and Egypt have large populations but
relatively low investments in education3. No partnerships with private sector or communities4. Issue of governance and control5. Teaching model is obsolete and elitist with low
flexibility
PAKISTAN Apartheid in the education system Private sector education where English is the
teaching medium and a fee range of Rs 100 to Rs 8000.
Public sector education where schools are lacking because of lack of teachers, and where girls sometimes have no schools (Daily Times, 2004).
Reliance on Madrassas because of messy state school structure.
How can we address this issue? How do we bring together our best thinkers nationally and internationally to brainstorm and develop a strategic plan?
Should we work with other national Muslim organizations or should we proceed alone?
We cannot address all areas of science and technology. Where should we focus first for our young students?
What country or countries do we start with first?