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National, Regional and Global Perspectives of Higher Education and Science Policies in the Arab Region

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Abstract

In this paper we discuss the interaction between science policies (and particularly in the area of scientific research) and higher education policies in Gulf and Mediterranean Arab countries. Our analysis reveals a discrepancy between the two sub-regions with respect to integration in the global market, cooperation in scientific research and international mobility of students. The paper discusses the implications of the analysis of reform policies and higher education restructuring.

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Notes

  1. See, for example, Lucas (1988) and Romer (1990).

  2. See Lall (1998), 11–48; see also Lall (1999), 9–10.

  3. See Amsden (2001), 1–28.

  4. See United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-Arab Human Development Report (AHDR) (2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005).

  5. See, for example, Al-Sulayti (2002), 1–54; Muysken and Nour (2006), 957–980, see also Nour (Nour 2005a, b, c).

  6. See for instance, Arab Knowledge Report (2009); ESTIME (2006), 1–80; Waast UNESCO (2006), 1–55; and Mouton and Waast UNESCO (2009), 36–59.

  7. See UNDP-AHDR-Arab Human Development Report (2003), op. cit. note 4, 4–13, 109–113.

  8. See Arab Knowledge Report (2009), op. cit. note 6, 28.

  9. According to AHDR (2003), knowledge is a multi-dimensional concept, knowledge consists of data, information, instructions, and ideas, or the sum total of symbolic structures possessed by individual human beings or by society at large. These symbolic structures guide individual and institutional human behaviour in all walks of life and in all spheres of public and private activity. Knowledge includes, for instance, the symbolic structures which are acquired through formal education and experiences learned from work and life. The institutional knowledge of a society includes history, culture, strategic orientations and organizational forms. Consequently, knowledge can be explicit (recorded in one form or another) or implicit (in the form of spontaneous behavioural prescriptions, for example). According to the Arab Knowledge Report (2009), knowledge is a human right and a means to overcome many of the difficulties and obstacles facing mankind. The Arab Knowledge Report (2009) uses the term “knowledge” to embrace all forms of a society’s epistemological and cultural assets and views it as a major organizing principal of holistic human development. Knowledge in this sense seeks to expand options and opportunities available to the individual Arab and to achieve for him or her freedom and an honourable life. See UNDP-AHDR (2003), op. cit. note 4, 36; see also Arab Knowledge Report (2009), op. cit. note 6, 28.

  10. The Mediterranean includes eight Arab countries: Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, and Tunisia. The Arab Gulf includes six Arab countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The other non-Gulf-non-Mediterranean Arab countries are: Djibouti, Iraq, Jordan, Mauritania, Sudan, and Yemen. The Maghreb sub-region includes Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, the Machreq sub-region includes: Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

  11. See UNDP- Human Development Report (2002, 2003, 2004), see also Lall, (1999), op. cit. note 2, 17.

  12. See ESTIME (2006), op. cit. note 6, 25.

  13. The returns were in the form of software in India; hardware in China; electronics and automobiles in Korea; electronics in Taiwan; semiconductors and Communications and Information Technology [C&IT] in Malaysia. Nour (2005b), op. cit. note 5, 255–260.

  14. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, Second European Report on S&T Indicators (Paris: OECD 1997).

  15. See El Kenz and Waast (1997), 56–57, 67.

  16. See Waast and Krishna (2003), 148–152.

  17. See Waast and UNESCO (2006), op. cit. note 6, 49. See also Mouton, Waast and UNESCO, (2009), op. cit. note 6, 55.

  18. See ESTIME (2006), op. cit. note 6, 29–31, www.estime.ird.fr.

  19. Lall, op. cit. note 2, 17, 22–23.

  20. UNDP (2003, 2004), op. cit. note 4; see also Nour (2005a, 2005b) op. cit. note 5.

  21. See UNESCO-UIS (2000). World Education Report (2000): UNESCO’s World Education Indicators (2000).

  22. Nour (2005b), op. cit. note 5, 263.

  23. Nour (2005c), op. cit. note 5, 125.

  24. See the Word Development Indicators Database 2005–2006.

  25. See Arab Knowledge Report (2009), op. cit. note 6, 112.

  26. See Arab Knowledge Report (2009), op. cit. note 6, 113.

  27. Op. cit. note 4.

  28. Fergany (1998), 18–19.

  29. UNDP-AHDR, op. cit. note 4, 56.

  30. Op. cit. note 5, 29–30.

  31. Fahmey and Mahmoud, (2002) in Al-Sulayti, op. cit. note 5, 29–30.

  32. Op. cit. note 5.

  33. Ibid. See also Muysken and Nour, op. cit. note 5, 970–971.

  34. See Waast (2003) 153–181.

  35. The concept of full-time equivalent researcher is adopted by UNESCO statistics on R&D personnel.

  36. See Qasem (1998).

  37. For this whole part, see Mouton and Waast (2009), 165–166.

  38. Ibid., 165–166.

  39. Ibid., 165–166.

  40. For this whole part, see Waast UNESCO (2006), op. cit. note 6, 33–38; Mouton and Waast UNESCO (2009), op. cit. note 6, 37–47, and also ESTIME (2006), op. cit. note 6, 41.

  41. Ibid.,30 and Ibid., 38.

  42. Ibid., 31 and Ibid.,39.

  43. Ibid., 31 and Ibid.,39.

  44. Ibid., 31–32 and Ibid., 39–41.

  45. Ibid., 31–32 and Ibid., 39–41.

  46. See ESTIME (2006), op. cit. note 6, 35–37, 41–43; see also Waast UNESCO (2006); op. cit. note 6, 29–32.

  47. See Waast UNESCO (2006), op. cit. note 6, 33 and Mouton and Waast UNESCO (2009), op. cit. note 6, 41.

  48. See ESTIME (2006), op. cit. note 6, 41.

  49. Ibid.

  50. Ibid., 33 and Ibid., 42.

  51. Ibid., 33–34 and Ibid., 42–43.

  52. Ibid., 34 and Ibid., 43.

  53. Ibid., 34–35 and Ibid., 43–44.

  54. Moreover, the commitment of Maghreb countries appears especially from the elaborate institutional framework designed for research by Tunisia (nationally labelled research teams or laboratories, commissions for their evaluation, significant resources reserved for them-whether they are made up of academics or of researchers belonging to centres or to industry, or of a mix of them provided each of them is active in research.

  55. For this whole part, see Waast UNESCO (2006), op. cit. note 6, 35–38 and Mouton and Waast UNESCO (2009), op. cit. note 6, 44–47.

  56. See Arab Knowledge Report (2009): Chapter 5: op. cit. note 6, 188–189.

  57. See Mouton and Waast (2009), op. cit. note 38, 150–151.

  58. Ibid., 153–158.

  59. For instance, UNDP, Human Development Reports: Arab countries. A resounding report from UNDP, written by authoritative experts from the region 14, recently marked out inadequate relationship with knowledge as one of the two or three main handicaps hindering progress in Arab countries. They blamed for it the spirit of both school and family education (influencing the very style of scientific activity and making little room for creativity), and the status of knowledge (held in low regard—in societies dominated by political and lineage values). See Waast UNESCO (2006), op. cit. note 6, 31.

  60. See Mouton and Waast (2009), op. cit. note 38, 149–150, 153–158. Data on Science Citation Index (SCI) for 2006.

  61. See Hanafi (2000), 1–3.

  62. Adapted from the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Statistics. 2005. Education and Health Services Statistics: Education Statistics. Statistical Bulletin 14: 79–83. Riyadh: Information Center and Statistical Department of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Secretariat General. Table 38: http://library.gcc-sg.org/StatisticBulletin2005/pg79.htm . Accessed 20 October 2006. Table 39: http://library.gcc-sg.org/StatisticBulletin2005/pg83.htm. Accessed 20 October 2006. Further, according to the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) website, the UOWD hosts over 2,200 students from 80 different countries. According to the American University in Cairo (AUC) (Egypt) catalog (2006–2007), around 32.4% of students are from the US and 8% are from other (other nationalities, not specified) countries, while the remaining 59.5 or 60% are Egyption (See AUC Catalog 2006–2007, The University Profile Fall 2005).

  63. According to UNESCO-UIS Global Education Digest (2006) definition, international (or internationally mobile) students are “Students who have crossed a national or territorial border for the purposes of education and are now enrolled outside their country of origin.” See http://www.uis.unesco.org/glossary/Term.aspx?name=International%20(or%20internationally%20mobile)%20students&lang=en, accessed 20 October 2006. See also Table 17 at http://stats.uis.unesco.org/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=217 and Table 18 at http://stats.uis.unesco.org/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=218, both accessed 20 October 2006.

  64. See UNDP-AHDR (2003), op. cit. note 4, Table 1, 23. See also Muysken and Nour, op. cit. note 5, 971.

  65. These proportions are less than that of Korea (95%) but higher than those of Singapore (36%) and India (37%).

  66. See Zahlan (Zahlan (1999a, b), 14–16.

  67. Ibid.

  68. Ibid.

  69. Ibid., 15.

  70. Ibid.

  71. See ESTIME (2006), op. cit. note 6, 32–33. Figures for SCI are obtained from SCI/Thomson, Calculations: P.L. Rossi/IRD.

  72. Ibid.

  73. Ibid.

  74. See also the OECD (1997), op. cit. note 14; Waast and Krishna (2003), op. cit. note 16.

  75. ESCWA (1999): 7–209.

  76. Djeflat (1999): 146–182.

  77. UNDP-AHDR "Arab Human Development Report" (2003) op. cit. note 4, 105–107. Arab Knowledge Report (2009), op. cit. note 6, 84–86.

  78. See the website Dar Al Hayat, “The Mohammed bin Rashid Foundation and Elaf launch “Ma’rifa” electronic website”. http://www.daralhayat.com/science_tech/02-2009/Article-20090213-+7067573f-c0a8-10ed-0095-ef1792de150d/ story. html, on 14 February, 2009. In Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF) and the United Nations Development Programme/Regional Bureau for Arab States (UNDP/RBAS). 2009. Arab Knowledge Report. 2009. Towards Productive Intercommunication for Knowledge, 85. Dubai: Al Ghurair Printing and Publishing House L.L.C.

  79. See the Qatar Foundation (2009): the Qatar Foundation’s website: http://www.qf.edu.qa/output/page40.asp. Accessed 14 February, 2009.

  80. See Marginson and Rhoades (2002), 281–309.

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  1. School of Business and Economics, University of Maastricht, UNU-MERIT, Keizer Karelplein 19, 6211 TC, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Samia Satti Osman Mohamed Nour

  2. Economics Department, Faculty of Economic and Social Studies, Khartoum University, P.O.B 321, Khartoum, 11115, Sudan

    Samia Satti Osman Mohamed Nour

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Nour, S.S.O.M. National, Regional and Global Perspectives of Higher Education and Science Policies in the Arab Region. Minerva 49, 387–423 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-011-9183-1

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