Society in Transition -- Educational Reform

A consensus of opinions, vociferously expressed in articles, lectures, talk shows and informal conversations, holds that educational reform is the key to society’s salvation, the lifeboat that can take us from our dismal present towards a brighter future. Without educational reform we are doomed to sink into further decline, decadence and, ultimately, chaos, to be plucked like a rotten fruit by the forces of darkness watching and waiting for just such an opportunity. In any gathering, whether between people on the highest rung of the social ladder or among ordinary citizens, talk invariably turns to the urgent need for educational reform and the disastrous consequences of not putting it into effect without further delay.

Conversations abound with nostalgic references to education as it was in the past and lament the standard of education on offer today, occasionally touching on the reasons our educational institutions have sunk to such abysmal depths, with their lack of quality, low standard of educational output and the yawning gap separating them from the realities and innovations of the age. But rarely, if ever, is the reader, viewer or listener of these plaintive symphonies apprised of what alternative model of education the lamenters are proposing in its stead. This article shall try to sum up, very briefly, the main guidelines we should follow when embarking on educational reform. I believe the first requirement is to formulate a clear vision, a declaration of intent, as it were, that would be based on the following simple formula:

The educational institutions aim to imbue the sons and daughters of the society of the future with the values of the age and with the qualifications that would enable them to make effective, creative and positive contributions towards achieving progress, social peace and quality of life at all levels. The most important values of the age that our educational institutions must plant in the minds of society’s children are:

- A love of pluralism in all its material, intellectual, sectarian, religious, political and cultural aspects as one of the most noble and beautiful realities of life, and a respect for its results, the most important being otherness and cultural and religious tolerance;

- A recognition of the universality of science and knowledge and an awareness that they are the cumulative legacy of humanity as a whole;

- The extirpation of all the seeds of fanaticism;

- A respect for human rights and the rights of minorities, and an acceptance of the imperative need to elevate the status of women, who make up half of the human race not only numerically but in terms of their role and contributions;

- An appreciation of progress and a deep respect for science and knowledge;

- A sense of the common humanity shared by all peoples and a love of art in all its forms;

- A recognition of the sanctity of human life and a respect for work.

Task forces composed of men and women experienced in all related fields, drawn from both inside and outside the educational establishment, must be formed to translate that vision into educational programmes. It is also necessary to study and address the reasons why the majority of those enrolled in the educational process are bent on completing the journey from primary to preparatory to secondary school to university. On the one hand, society does not need so many university graduates; on the other, it is in dire need of skills in many domains that are not acquired through a university education.

On a recent visit to Finland, a country experts consider to have the best educational system in the world today, I met one of the leading personalities in the field of education. She told me that in her opinion the problem is not whether education is free or paid - in Finland education is free from elementary school through post-graduate studies, even for non-citizens. Rather, it is the failure of many educational systems to attract society’s young people towards vocational schools where the training they receive can serve society in ways that university graduates cannot.

Speaking as one of the architects of this highly developed Scandinavian country’s educational policies, she added that no society could possibly need more than one quarter of those enrolled in the educational process to graduate from university; it needed the remainder to train as skilled workers in various areas of specialization. If the educational policy succeeds in directing a quarter, or, at most, a third of its young people towards a university education and three quarters or two thirds towards modern vocational training, society would not only receive all the contributions required for its advancement, it would also be able to provide free university education to its most brilliant students. 

Although the prescription set out in this article appears simple on its face, its application is far from easy. To begin with, it needs a large number of qualified people to lay the groundwork for the required radical reforms. Theirs will not be an easy task, for they will face ferocious resistance from those forces within the society whose vested interests are safe and sound only if things remain as they are.  

There is no doubt that the political will to effect these changes in order to provide the only lifeboat that can rescue society from its present predicament is of paramount importance.

Egyptian Culture--Where Are We Headed?

قضايا الوطن عندنا هى النهوض بمستوي معيشة الأغلبية و خلق فرص عمل حقيقية للشباب و تطوير التعليم (وعصرنته) ومحاولة اللحاق بركب التقدم الإنساني فى كل المجالات بما فى ذلك وضع وحقوق المرأة ، وتأسيس العلاقة بين الشعب والدولة على أساس المواطنة ... أما السواد الأعظم من أعضاء البرلمان الجديد فقضاياهم هى : محاربة الإختلاط بين الجنسين والعودة بالمرأة لوضعيتها فى القرن الثامن الميلادي وتحجيب النساء وغلق البنوك الربوية !!! وقطع يد السارق ورجم الزناة ! وبإختصار ، فإن مصر تم تسليمها لكادر بشري لا علاقة له بالثقافة المصرية وإنما هم أبناء ثقافة البداوة والصحراء وإزدراء الآخر وإحتقار النساء والزواج من فتيات فى المدرسة الإبتدائية !

دانات ... بمناسبة إرتداء مصر للجلباب القصير !!!

أدت تراكماتُ سلبيات ستين سنة من حكم غير متسم بالكفاءة والثقافة والرؤية والنزاهة الى ما وصلنا له والذي تجسد في اختيار اعضاء برلمان ثلاثة أرباعهم لا ينتمون فكراً ورؤية لمسيرة التقدم الانساني . والحقيقة ، أن ما حدث هو أمر طبيعي للغاية . فالشعبُ الفقير المهمش المظلوم والمنهوب والذي تلقى اسوأ انواع التعليم لم يكن بوسعه ان يختار بشكل مغاير. من الناحية السياسية ، فإن ما حدث طبيعيُ ومتناغمُ مع الديمقراطية المنشودة . أما من الناحية الثقافية ، فان ما حدث "كارثةُ " .ولكنها كارثةُ لا يجوز ولا ينبغي التعامل معها بأدواتِ غير ادوات وآليات الديمقراطية . أي بجهاد متواصل من جانب انصار الدولة المدنية بهدف رفع مستوى اختيار الشعب المصري بحيث يكون للأكفأ القادر على تحقيق احتياجات المصريين الاساسية وهي: (1) تحسين الظروف الحياتية (2) خلق وظائف عمل حقيقية جديدة تتناسب عددياً مع طلاب العمل في المجتمع (3) تطوير وتحديث التعليم (4) تفعيل مشاركة المصريين في الشأن العام وهي المشاركة التي تم خنقها خلال السنوات الستين الماضية ولم تنطلق الاَّ مع ثورة 25 يناير 2011.

Society in Transition--The Role of Education (Part I)

In an article published in October magazine, titled “Those Who Have Withdrawn from the Age… And Those Who Are Up to Its Challenge”, my friend the author and historian Dr. Abdel Azim Ramadan, touched a nerve as he discussed Egyptian post-graduate students abroad. Ramadan’s article centered on the tendency of this expatriate community of future university professors to escape into the past and on their inability to face the challenges of civilization and culture in the advanced countries where they spend a good number of years. I have met many graduate students in various countries of Europe and North America and can concur that they are indeed, as Ramadan described them “fugitives from our age”. For the most part, they avoid the challenge of adapting to and absorbing these cultures and, instead, opt for the easy path of retreating into themselves.

In the UK, most Egyptian post-graduate students live in Egyptian “cloisters”, quite detached from the golden opportunities available to them at the expense of the Egyptian taxpayer. In all probability, not one of the hundreds of Egyptians who obtained their doctorates from British universities bothered to read basic literary works as those of Shakespeare, Chaucer, Byron, Wordsworth or Dickens. It is also safe to bet that none of them became anywhere near as familiar with the treasures of museums as they did with the layout of department stores. University professors who lived in Britain for years have admitted to me that they never bothered to follow the political, literary or cultural events in that country throughout their stay.

In the US, I met several Egyptians preparing their doctorates in various branches of learning. Most had never really experienced American life, preferring to spend their years there in self-imposed isolation because of their inability to face the challenge of civilization and culture. Before meeting with a number of doctoral graduate students at one of the largest universities in the US, I had hoped to spend a few stimulating hours discussing American political history, cultural life and literature. But that was not to be. Instead, I was subjected to a series of monologues which reflected the speakers’ total detachment and withdrawal from their environment and their retreat into the distant past – and to the most fanatical and extremist trends of that past.

The reason for the cultural introversion of our graduate students abroad is, I believe, the poor educational and cultural baggage they bring with them. Forced to retreat into complete isolation, they seek refuge in exaggerated conservatism and extremism as an easy way out of their dilemma. Indeed, with their poor educational, linguistic and cultural assets, how could they accomplish what generations of their forebears had achieved? The generation of Taha Hussein, Tawfiq al-Hakim, the scientist and artist Hussein Fawzi and the two generations that followed traveled to the West armed with a solid educational and cultural background, and at least one or two foreign languages. They then acquire the best that Western civilization had to offer without losing their faith in the greatness of their religion and the glory of their past. Today’s students come back to Egypt not richer than when they left, having concentrated on the study of one exclusive subject for the most part. As for the host society, its civilization and achievements in the areas of public freedom and democracy, the rich diversity of its literature and culture, its vibrant political life – these are of no interest to our M.A. and Ph.D. candidates, who are completely wrapped up in themselves and their own narrow vision, isolated and brewing ideas that belong to the age of darkness and obscurity.

In Paris once I sat in on a heated discussion among a group of graduate students, all of whom have since joined the faculties of Egyptian universities. The discussion was about painting and sculpture, and all those present pronounced both art forms to be works of the devil! Ironically, we were at that time only a few steps away from the city’s Latin Quarter, a district alive with art, literature and culture, and just a stone’s throw from the Louvre, where hundreds of the world's greatest paintings and sculptures stood in mute reproach to the astounding views put forward by people who had turned their backs on the age.

Education for all:

The above is by way of an introduction to the subject of education in Egypt today and the sorry state it is in. Egyptian education is a closed system, detached from contemporary realities and isolated from the common cultural heritage of mankind, without which no educational system can hope to produce individuals capable of enriching their nations. But where and when did this tragedy start, and who is responsible?

This is Part I in a series on the role of education in society.