Chapter 11.8

IT and Educational Policy in the North Africa and the Middle East Region

Amr Ibrahim

The American University, Cairo

aibrahim@auc.egypt.edu

Abstract: North African countries include Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. Gulf countries are Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Oman. Other countries in the region include Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, and Israel. Although the use of communication facilities using IT is growing very substantially in the region, the expenditures in the educational sector are probably insufficient to educate the users about how to use IT facilities for learning. Middle East and North-African countries are starting to embrace IT integration in education and training. The Gulf countries and Israel at the infusing level of policy, while the other countries in the region are at the applying-policy level. Infrastructure investments need to be balanced with investments in digital content development and staff training.

Keywords: Digital divide, -learning, e-readiness, IT infrastructure, Life-long learning, Technology diffusion, IT policy, North Africa, Middle East.

11.8.1 Socio-Economic, Educational, and Cultural Context

The pace of globalization today is faster and more sweeping than in previous times in

history, a trend that is forcing education to react. The emergence of Internet and the use of e-

learning in this chapter the term e-learning is used to globally describe the use of IT in

education--implies that a greater part of the earth’s population is now engaged, at least

potentially, in a global approach to education and training. The continuing rapid change in the

computing infrastructure, the Internet, and through multimedia computing and communication

has a great impact on the educational system. This evolution in the educational process is a

major issue of concern in most developing countries and also for the Middle East and North

Africa region, which consists of 18 Arab-speaking countries and Israel.

The public and corporate sectors need the most advanced skills and the most

updates of equipment and access to training in order to remain competitive. Government,

institutes in the Middle East and North Africa, and policy makers are acknowledging the

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potential downside of the rapid pace of globalization in relation to the need for integrating IT

in their educational and training systems and the impact of globalization on change in skills

development.

There are many perspectives to describe the socio-economic, educational, and

cultural context of a region. An interesting perspective, especially related to IT, is the so-

called e-readiness index. The journal ‘The Economist’, and in particular its Intelligence Unit

(Economist Intelligence Unit, 2006) has published an annual e-readiness ranking of the

word's largest economies since 2000. "E-readiness" refers to a country's ability to take

advantage of the Internet as an engine of economic growth and human development. E-

readiness has several components, including telecommunications infrastructure, human

resources, and legal and policy frameworks. An e-readiness assessment can be used as an

information-gathering mechanism for countries as they plan their strategies for IT

development. It can help a society better understand what impediments to Internet

development exist and what initiatives are needed to overcome them. Currently 68 countries

are assessed on their ability to promote and support digital business and information and

communications technology (IT) services. The ranking allows governments to gauge the

success of their technology initiatives against those of other countries. Table 11-8-1 reflects

the 2005 and 2006 e-readiness rankings of selected Middle East and North African countries.

Table 11-8-1

E-readiness ranking of selected Middle East and North African countries

2006 rank in

region

2005 rank in

region

Country Overall ranking

(of 68)

E-readiness

score (of 10)

1 1 Israel 22 7.59

2 Not ranked United Arab

Emirates (UAE)

30 6.32

2

3 2 South Africa 35 5.74

4 3 Turkey 45 4.77

5 4 Saudi Arabia 46 4.67

6 Not ranked Jordan 54 4.22

7 5 Egypt 55 4.14

8 6 Nigeria 60 3.69

9 7 Algeria 63 3.32

10 8 Iran 65 3.15

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2006

Based on the above criteria and ranking in Table 11-8-1 it is clear that most Middle

East and North African countries lag behind the rest of the world. In addition, the gap

between the North African and Middle East countries and other countries in the world has

increased over the last decade, fitting the general observation of a (digital) divide between

the North and the South (United Nations Development Program [UNDP], 2006a). Specific

data about priorities in public spending (see Table 11-8-2) and the diffusion and creation of

technology (see Table 11-8-3) illustrate the problem. Table 11-8-2 illustrates that many

countries in the ten countries sampled spend much more money on military than on

education.

Table 11-8-2

Priorities in public spending, selected countries in the region

Israel Kuwait UAE Saudi

Arabia

Lebanon Jordan Tunisia Syria Egypt

Public expenditure on

health

6.1 2.7 2.5 2.5 3 4.2 2.8 2.5 2.2

Public Expenditure on 7.3 8.2 1.6 n/a 2.6 n/a 8.1 n/a n/a

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Education

Military Expenditures 8.7 7.9 2.4 8.3 3.8 9.9 1.5 6.9 2.8

Adopted from Raphali, 2002

Table 11-8-3 illustrates the enormous growth between 1990 and 2003 of vital means

of telecommunications, including mainline telephones, cellular telephones and Internet users.

The growth in the use of cellular phones is phenomenal while the growth in the number of

users of Internet is substantial, but not across the board. The numbers for Saudi Arabia, Iran,

Syria and Egypt are low, although in the case of Syria the low number of Internet users may

reflect the nature of the regimes in some countries which seek to keep their populations

isolated from outside influence.

Table 11-8-3

Table 3: Technology diffusion and creation in the region

(numbers per 1000 inhabitants)

Israel Kuwait UAE Saudi

Arabia

Lebanon Jordan Tunisia Syria Egypt

Tel. Mainline 1990 349 156 224 75 144 78 37 39 29

Tel. mainline 2004 441 202 275 154 178 113 121 143 130

Cellular subscribers

1990

3 10 19 1 0 [1] [1] 0 [1]

Cellular subscribers

2003

1,057 813 853 383 251 293 359 126 105

Internet users 2003 (0

in 1990)

471 244 321 66 169 110 84 43 54

Adopted from Raphali, 2003

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The data in Tables 11-8-2 and 11-8-3 lead to the conclusion that, although the use of

communication facilities using IT is growing very substantially in the Middle East and North

African region’s countries, the expenditures in the educational sector are probably insufficient

to educate the users about how to use these facilities for the benefits of learning. One

possible solution to prevent that these countries fall even further behind in using information

and high technology is to invest in using technology in education. The importance of this can

also be seen in the fact that Arab Gross Domestic product (GDP) as a percentage of the

world GDP is fast declining. For example, Oil-rich Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE),

Kuwait, and Qatar collectively produce goods and services (mostly oil) worth $500 billion;

while Spain alone produces goods and services worth over $1 trillion, Poland $489 billion,

and Thailand $545 billion.

No sector of the economy is impervious to the progress of IT, and every sector has

the potential to benefit from progress in IT. However, in and of itself, IT investment is unlikely

to generate significant productivity gains; it needs to be accompanied by investments in

training, organizational design, and collaboration.

11.8.2 Rationales and Factors Influencing a Policy about IT in Education

In recent time, the countries in the Middle East and North Africa evolved from a long

history of colonization. At the same time serious civil unrest is still going on in many countries

of this region which does not create a suitable environment for nurturing education and

stability.

Political leaders, employers, and the public are expressing an unprecedented level of

concern with the state of education in Egypt. At the beginning of the 21st century the

educational system is not ready to generate the skill competencies needed by the

globalization of the world economy.

A new willingness to consider fundamental changes and innovative approaches is

apparent in the current wave of reform efforts that involve legislatures, business coalitions,

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teachers, colleges of education, and school administrators (World Education Services, 2007).

These educators, policy makers, and citizens are now seriously debating the structural

reforms that would have seemed wildly idealistic just a decade ago. Many critics of the

current Egyptian educational institutions view technology as an important driver for

generating the kind of revolutionary changes called for in the new reform efforts. Having seen

the ways in which technology has transformed the workplace, and, indeed, most of the

region’s communications and commercial activities, the business community and the public

in general are exerting pressure for comparable changes within the education system. One

possible solution for enhancement of the education infrastructure is the integration of IT and

the shift from conventional methods of teaching to innovate, interactive multimedia and

teaching methods and techniques (Youssef, 2007. The primary motivation for using

technology in education is the firm belief that it will stimulate learning. Research and

development educational programs, such as the Egyptian Education Initiative (World

Economic Forum, 2006), have emphasized the use of new technologies in learning and

management systems, content development, and for applying new pedagogical models. The

main objective for the integration of IT is to find better tools and media for enhancement of

educational systems. In this respect, several institutes such as the American University of

Cairo have developed and integrated e-learning and IT technology for management of

courses and electronic communication by the Internet.

The issues raised above are relevant to most Middle East and North African countries

except for a few rich Gulf countries which are investing heavily in the educational system

infrastructure and IT. The following paragraphs describe in a global the initiatives taken by

the different countries of the region.

Several initiatives in North Africa and the Middle East have been developed

recognizing e-learning and integration of IT in education as a tool for educational

development and enhancement. At the start of the 21st century Middle East and North-

African countries are starting to embrace IT integration in education and training. However,

often no clear policy or strategy has yet been implemented, but initiatives and procedures

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emerge which harness IT policy development. Examples of programs and pilot projects can

be found in Oman (Knowledge Oasis Muscat, 2006); Jordan (Ministry of Planning and

International Cooperation Jordan, 2004); Syria (Albirini, 2004); Lebanon (United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP), 2003, 2006b); Israel (Fisher & Jacob, 2006); Qatar

(ICTQatar, 2005); Bahrain ( Kingdom of Bahrain Ministry of Education, 2004); United Arab

Emirates (Digital Opportunity Channel 2007); Saudi Arabia (Nair, 2006); Kuwait (Digital

Opportunity Channel, 2007); Palestine (Hammad, 2005); and Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco,

Sudan, and Tunisia (United Nations Economic Commission on Africa, 2005b).

In addition to the implementation of IT in education through forms of e-learning, many

of the countries in the region still require improvements of their general IT policies and

strategies. The biggest challenges are weak policy and implementation capacity, opposition

from vested interests, and persistent obstacles to adoption of IT. Many countries also lack

adequate tools to plan, monitor, and control, evaluate, and guide investments in IT and

connectivity (United Nations Economic Commission on Africa, 2005a). One possible solution

is benchmarking IT data and monitoring trends, themes, and programs supporting IT such as

done by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in

Middle East and North Africa developing countries. (UNDP, 2006a, b).

Timely and relevant policy announcements and guidelines help to foster IT

penetration aiming at greater socio-economic gains and growth. Steps like deregulation,

encouraging private participation, tax and duty incentives, and wise spending of resources all

help to integrate IT with national goals and its fulfillment. Public investment is a critical policy

measure in many countries to develop the IT infrastructure.

11.8.3 Specific Policies about IT in Education

The main requirements for e-learning and IT-in-education policy development in the

Northern Africa and Middle East region are:

- Social and cultural issues (interaction, collaboration, and communities of practice).

- Physical issues (tools, facilities and services, bandwidth, and browser versions).

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- Content issues (themes, subjects and levels, pedagogical approaches).

- Political and economic issues (commitment of management and cost) (Nasr and Ibrahim,

2007).

In addition the attitudes and competencies of learners toward IT needs to be

determined to be able to develop appropriate and timely IT policies for countries in North

Africa and the Middle East.

Several initiatives to provide IT to the Middle East and North Africa region have been

initiated and supported by governments and international funding agencies. Other initiatives

are the Competence Centre, PC for the Community Initiative, Free Internet Initiative,

Broadband Initiative, the National eStrategy for Lebanon (United Nations Development

Programme, 2003), and conferences and workshops These initiatives include the creation of

Smart Schools Networked Learning in Egypt, where IT was introduced in schools (Halouda,

2005) focusing both on infrastructure and applications in order to qualify teachers to obtain

the International Computer Driving License (ICDL) and to improve teaching and educational

methods.

By using the framework proposed by Moonen (2008) clusters of counties in the

Middle East and North African region can be situated with respect to the implementation of

their IT-in-education policy, taking into account the initiatives referred to in the previous

sections of this chapter. Table 11-8-4 presents the status of implementation of IT policy of

the various clusters of

Table 11-8-4

A summary of IT implementation in the Middle East and North Africa region

No

policy

yet

Emerging

of policy

Applying

policy

Infusing

policy

Transforming

education by

policy

National/subnational

policy document for IT

NA, AC G, IS

8

in education

Master plan with a

time frame

NA, AC G, IS

Budget plan and

appropriations

Organizational

structure responsible

for implementing the

master plan

NA, AC G, IS

Monitoring an

evaluation scheme or

mechanism

G, IS

Statement of inclusion

of women, minorities

and those with special

needs in IT policy

Manner by which the

country and schools

implement IT for

education if no IT

policy exists

Legend: NA for North African countries (Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco); GC

for Gulf Countries (Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman), AC for other Arab

Countries (Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan), IS for Israel.

11.8.4 Reflections and Future Steps to Improve Policy about IT in Education

It can be predicted that e-learning will emerge as part of the future utility-services

provision for education, just as utilities for electricity in educational campuses and institutes.

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For example, Al-Wakra Independent School for Girls in Qatar, book learning has been

replaced by eSchoolbag learning. Portable and filled with information covering various

subjects, these portable computers (Tablet PCs) let students take notes digitally, and then

share and edit the information electronically.

The tablets are not just electronic notebooks. They're packed with materials on

science, math and English mapped to Qatari curriculum standards. They can be customized

by teachers to fit individual student's needs.

Students can use the Tablet PCs to work independently in the classroom and at

home, deepening their understanding of subjects. eSchoolbags also allow students to

interact with teacher’s day or night.

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore - an e-learning pioneer - is

working with ictQATAR to introduce eSchoolbag in Qatar's schools, as well as train

instructors in technical and teaching skills.

In this respect, we will see e-learning and IT integration in education provided on

digital TV networks on demand and the customer can subscribe to a set of topics and

disciplines that will be accessible through a Personal Learning Environment (E-learning

Guild, 2006; Medhat, 2005). More innovation will be demonstrated as the Internet, digital

broadcast media, and, video telecommunications become more integrated.

In order to prepare for the integration of e-learning, Egypt, for example, is adopting a

Scandinavian model indicated as one of the best performance examples of e-readiness

(Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in Egypt, 2006). The model is

based on innovation and leadership as the result of the ability to embrace change, shift

priorities, and the courage to make tough choices. The Middle East and North African

countries must realize that innovation is a societal phenomenon, a collective task, largely

carried by the private sector. Taking the Scandinavian model as an example, the following

are the key lessons learned: education, skills development, and life-long learning must be at

the centre of an innovative economy.

In conclusion, it is important that the technology infrastructure does not become a key

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inhibitor for pursuing e-learning. At the same time, any infrastructure investments should be

balanced with digital content development, and staff training to enable teachers to use e-

learning materials related to their learners needs. In addition, learning content that is

generated needs to be stored, registered, evaluated, and integrated into an e-library (Digital

Empowerment Foundation, 2006).

North-African and Middle East governments, professional bodies, and educational

networks in the region could do more to promote e-learning solutions as part of their national

skills development and lifelong learning strategies. In addition, there are clear strategic

opportunities for collaborative developments of best practice in order to minimize the amount

of overlap and maximize cooperation between organizations, governments, and institutes, in

content development at the various educational levels.

The Middle East and North African educational institutes are entering a new world

that is global, entrepreneurial, and competitive. Accordingly, instituting the appropriate policy,

vision, and leadership, and investing in the future, the Northern Africa and Middle East region

maybe will be able to follow and participate in the technological shift and globalization.

E-learning allows educators and institutes to move from the industrialized model of

the instruction to an “any time and place” model of learning. A school that is contained by

time and space will be an old model and unable to compete in the globalization of the

educational process that is based on a 24-7 learning model. In this respect, it is important to

emphasize that laws, procedures, infrastructure; attitudes are needed to support a

knowledge economy.

In order to stimulate new initiatives, most schools face formidable challenges with

regard to taking IT to every village (e.g. Garari & Shadrach, 2006) about the Indian

experience. This experience is not very different from the typical development projects in the

Middle East and North African region. Some of these challenges include:

- Integrating IT in the very life of the school, as an essential part of an educational solution

and not just as a technology-cantered project.

- Creating awareness amongst policymakers and convincing them about the usefulness of

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investing in education through IT.

- Developing beyond donor-dependency and creating integrated national programs that are

affordable and sustainable in the face of education budgetary cuts, how to read and write

and basic health education.

- Monitoring whether IT-interventions in schools really add educational value to learners,

teachers and school management.

- Stressing the importance of policy, vision, and regulation reform in IT with focus on the

poor.

- Acknowledging the importance of entrepreneurs and their initiatives for development of

education and leading the change.

- Realizing the importance of professional managers, advisors, and experts for planning

and execution of policy.

The steady rise in IT in education in developed countries is attributed to high incomes and

normal population growth rate. Some developed countries in the Middle East and North

Africa with huge population growth may not be able to realize s steady rise in IT penetration

in education. To encourage the use of IT in education the adoption of an IT policy, which

outlines the overall direction and guides subsequent action, is of paramount importance.

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