If there was one issue that popped up in virtually every World Economic Forum conference and debate it was education. While more than half of the region’s population is under 25 years of age, nearly all those in attendance agreed that the current level of schooling is extremely poor and in need of a massive and costly overhaul to offer Arab youth a better future. Participants pointed out that skill building in Information Technology and scientific research sectors should be the main focus.
“We spend billions on building tall buildings but are not willing to spend billions on education,” said Fadi Ghandour, founder and chief executive officer of Aramex International.
“My kids today are reading the same stupid text books I had to read 30 years ago,” said Naguib Sawiris, chairman and CEO of Orascom Telecom. He stressed that better education was essential to create jobs, fight poverty and democratize knowledge, and as such was the most important tool in fighting extremism.
Salman bin Ahmed al-Khalife, managing director at Ithmaar Bank, also emphasized the need for investment and reform. Yet he asked if some of the region’s political leaders were afraid of educating the masses. What if people start thinking and may want to get rid of their leaders?
It was refreshing to hear some of the region’s business leaders speak out so bluntly about the current state of education. With a few words they gave a whole new emphasis and dimension to the many expert reports published and shelved over the years.
Take the World Bank’s 2008 report: “The Road Not Traveled.” The report concluded, among other things, that while education has become more accessible and the gender gap has been reduced, the region has not witnessed the same rise in literacy rates and higher education enrollment seen in other continents. The report noted a lack of emphasis on the teaching of critical thinking and problem solving skills. Consequently, students in the Middle East and North Africa score lower on international math exams than students in other regions.
There are of course regional differences and differences within a country. Generally speaking, good education remains a prerogative for the wealthy. The report ranked Jordan and Kuwait among the region’s top reformers, while Djibouti, Yemen, Morocco and Iraq ranked lowest in terms of access, efficiency and quality of education.
The report also pointed out the challenge for today’s leadership: with more than 60 percent of the region’s population under 30 years of age, some 100 million jobs need to be created over the next 15 years if unemployment rates are to fall.
That may sound impossible, but there were optimistic tones struck, especially by Willem Elfrink, chief globalization officer of Cisco Systems. He said technology is not a goal in itself, but an “enabler” and “equalizer,” as information is becoming ever more available, communication easier and work more collaborative.
“Europe is shrinking, the US aging, the Middle East growing: see it as an opportunity,” he said. “There are 200 million potential users in the region that speak one language. That is an enormous market! Yet where is the content?”
With enthusiasm he went on to explain how loans and microfinancing could create technological clusters, where creativity would have free reign to build software, games, networks and monitoring tools.
“Clusters are essential for creation. Look at Silicon Valley,” he said. ”With the right impetus, the Middle East could become a platform for innovation and creation.”
The Middle East as a platform of technological innovation? Many people will accuse Elfrink of being a dreamer, but why not? There is the human capital, the need, the desire and the market. What needs to be stimulated is the right mindset and working environment. Surely that is not an easy proposal, but if the region does not invest in education and IT, what other option does it have in mind for the ballooning number of Arab youth?
