Arab experts in Beirut, Doha discuss educational reforms
Regional, Education, 2/21/2004

Representatives for the private and public educational sectors from 21 Arab countries discussed in Beirut for the first time means of developing educational and learning curricula denied that such efforts for reforms are a result of foreign pressures especially the American pressures.

Discussions held to developing this sector was attended by 1500 Arab specialists including 17 ministers in the context of the Arab forum for education and learning held under the auspices of the Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri. The forum opened its works on Tuesday and concluded on Thursday and was under the title "Arab education.. reality and prospects for development." In a speech he delivered on behalf of the patron of the forum, the Lebanese finance minister, Fouad al-Sanyoura, said that the reform "includes the Islamic thinking." He added that the "prescribed change does not comply with our sovereignty and independence.. our programs need the change and development but are not a reason for extremism." For his part, Prince Khaled al-Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz, the chairman of the al-Fikr al-Arabi establishment which organized the forum stressed that the change stems from the society and is not prescribed from abroad..

Among the main work session were "the future of education and learning in the Arab states in light of world changes " and "merging the concepts of human rights and dialogue of civilizations in the curricula." The forum was held at an initiative from the al-Fikr al-Arabi establishment in collaboration with the federation of Arab universities, the two offices for Arab education of the Gulf states and UNESCO regional office for the Arab states, ALESCO and ISISCO.

However, the Arab and Islamic states, especially Saudi Arabia have been exposed since September 11 attacks to American pressures to introduce reforms to its educational curricula which are accused of encouraging terrorism.

In January, the Saudi Shoura council called for approving a law to reform the educational system that make of moderate attitude one of the basic values of the message of Islam, while a group of 156 scholars and intellectuals warned in a statement circulated on the Internet the authorities against changing the teaching curricula.

In Doha, works of the regional workshop on human rights were concluded on Thursday. It was attended by more than 50 experts from the Gulf Cooperation Council states and Yemen by calling for merging human rights concepts in the learning curricula of the GCC member states.

The participants in the meeting also called for encouraging sides concerned to the GCC states to ratify international and Arab treaties, norms and agreements pertinent to education on human rights.

However, the representative of the higher commissioner of human rights at the UN, Amin Mekki, denied that the forum was organized in the course of "the American pressures on the Gulf states to change the curricula." He added that the "main principle is that the change stems from inside and building on the values of region and its heritage."

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