World Bank report: education progress needed in Maghreb
2008-02-11
A new World Bank study of education in 14 Middle East and North African countries commends Tunisia for significant progress, but says other countries, including Morocco and Algeria, still adhere to an "outdated method of teaching".
By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis – 11/02/08
 worldbank.org] In a report entitled: "The Road Not Traveled: Education Reform in the Middle East and North Africa", the World Bank said that with the exception of Tunisia, Maghreb countries are using outdated teaching methods and risk falling behind in a globalised world. |
A World Bank study issued last week says Arab countries must improve education to combat unemployment and close what it calls the "education gap" with other regions.
Under the title, "The Road Not Traveled: Education Reform in the Middle East and North Africa", the report called on countries in the Maghreb region to "reform their educational systems so as to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive world, and to benefit from the potentials and capabilities of the already big, and still growing" youth population.
The region "now has one of the largest cohorts of young people in the world, in proportion to its population," the World Bank noted, adding that "As this cohort works its way through the education system, it will generate unprecedented demands for new learning opportunities and even stronger expectations of better results."
Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco were among 14 countries evaluated on four issues: access to education, equality, quality and efficiency. Jordan ranked first overall, followed by Kuwait and Tunisia. Algeria placed 8th and Morocco 11th in the World Bank education assessment.
According to the report, only Jordan, Tunisia and Lebanon have made significant progress in student-focused teaching, while the other countries, including Morocco and Algeria, continue to adhere to an "outdated method of teaching".
The report also noted that success in achieving the educational goals is not always linked to average income. "The performance of Algeria and Saudi Arabia, which have a relatively high per capita income, was weaker than the performance of Tunisia and Jordan, which have lower per capita income."
According to the World Bank, only Tunisia and Jordan integrated systems for evaluating education sector planning and accountability.
Tunisia's strong results came as no surprise to a senior teaching inspector in the Tunisian Ministry of Education. Belgacem Hacen told Magharebia that Tunisia is carrying out ongoing reforms of educational curricula. "We have several evaluations which we conduct on a regular basis both internally and externally before adjusting our programs," Hacen said. The teaching inspector added that as part of its effort to "achieve distinction," Tunisia has established "quality and inspection indicators in order to draw a clear path".
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FTMA Posted 2008-02-12
Hello, Before talking about an Arab Maghreb and finding a “Maghreb” solution for the Algerians and Moroccans, the immigration laws in the Maghreb need to be changed for us Algerians living in Morocco and vice versa. We are lost here because we cannot find work since we are of Moroccan nationality and have Algerian residency. I am finishing my studies and I don't dare try to find work because I am a Moroccan. I am not a Jew; I am simply a Muslim of a different nationality. What can I even do? I tried to return to my country, but I found the same thing because my degree is not valid there. I would need to do an equivalent degree. As the saying goes, [expletive deleted]. I went back to Algeria, but there is nothing to do, no rights for us. We are lost. Why? What is there that we can do?
Anonymous Posted 2008-02-12
The pay is pitiful. I hold a Master’s as a medical nurse and my salary is 60,000 dirhams, equal to 600 euros, and I have 15 years seniority. What a shame this is; I have to work a full month just to buy a plane ticket to Paris. I would need to work an entire lifetime to buy a decent car. Just look around, and they ask us why people are leaving to go abroad!? There is not even the semblance of value in this place.
شوقي من تونس Posted 2008-02-12
Arabs exist in words, but in terms of deeds, the result was uncovered by the World Bank: far below zero.
Jamal, Riffian Amazigh Hollanda Posted 2008-02-13
It hurts me very much hearing the people scream to be together and open up borders, economies etc. And and the other hand seeing the governments taking more steps to separate one another. Investing in new military equipment and creating an idiology of nationalism that never existed. It is crazy, in the past we let Morocco and Algeria be separted by the US en the Sovjets for nothing! We are one people for God sake try to understand. I`m from the Eastern Rif and have more affiliation in language, culture with the Choui and Kabyle of the countrie "Algeria" than people from Rabat or Soussa or Sahroui`s. It`s crazy to see the governments emphasize the differences, this is not true! The only thing that divide the peoples of Morocco and Algeria is the fake border, nothing else!!!
HOUARI-MARSEILLE Posted 2008-02-13
Here in France, all the graduates are equally recognised at the high school level. I understand your confusion, because I tasted this bitterness and I still have bad memories of it. Stay strong! We need to create organisations in the Maghreb for this purpose.
waski Posted 2008-03-11
We are in a crisis. I work at a regional academy in Settat and I assure you that we are nothing but talk. The director is thief. What more is there to say!?
Farid Posted 2008-03-12
In Response to “Anonymous”: You can see for yourself about your 600 euros. If you are going to count like that, then do not forget to that you buy at bread to 7 cents, in your diesel at 14 cents per litre and a pack of Marlboro’s at a euro. In France, that respectively costs 75 cents, 1.23 euros and 5 euros. Just getting your hair cut costs a minimum of 15 euros, whereas in Algeria it is equivalent to one euro. Stop converting your money into euros; you live in Algeria. The State is not going to pay you as if you were a doctor living in France. For the price of a single coffee in France you can have ten coffees in Algeria. There is a big difference between our products, up to thirty or forty times the price. And, you are a doctor!? And, as for airplane-ticket prices, this belongs to the directors of Air Algeria who sound like you. They convert currency, but as high as possible. The Algerian airline company is the most expensive of all airline companies in the world. Since 1962, it has had a monopoly on the sky, but it is still in the shitter. For the price of a Paris-to-Algiers ticket, you could spend 10-days vacation in another sunny country (all the more so, given your reasoning).
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