The World Bank released a comprehensive report on education in the Middle East and North Africa.
Executive report is available by clicking here, and the
full report is downloadable as well. The study is segmented as follows "Investment in Education", "Economic Returns to Investment in Education", "New Challenges Facing the Education Sector in MENA", "Analytical Framework", "The Road Traveled Thus Far in MENA", "Why Some MENA Countries Did Better than Others", "Education and Domestic Label Markets", "Education and Migration", and "The Road Ahead".
Notable findings from the report are (
quote)
MENA countries on average dedicated 5% of GDP and 20% of government expenditures to education—more than other developing countries at similar levels of per capita income.
MENA countries have reached almost full primary education enrollment and increased enrollment in secondary schools almost threefold between 1970 and 2003 and fivefold at the higher education level.
Gender-parity for basic education is virtually complete. Although the region started from relatively low levels of gender parity, indexes for secondary and higher education aren't significantly different from Latin America and East Asia.
Illiteracy rates have been halved in the past 20 years and the absolute difference between male and female adult literacy rates has declined rapidly.
The study argues that despite all the improvements in the education sector, the MENA countries still trail behind countries of similar level of economic development, notably that of East Asia and Latin America. When compared to East Asia and Latin America, illiteracy is twice as high, and enrollment in secondary as well as higher education is low (page 5 from
executive report).
(copied as from the report)
Labels: education, middle east
