Scientific research in Islamic states inadequate, higher education not linked to industry

The director general of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Abdul Aziz Othman Al-Twaijri, said the global economic crisis and structural adjustment programs implemented by some Muslim countries compelled some of these countries to review their development policies, including the policies pertaining to higher education in all its domains.

In his address to the world conference on higher education, which opened Monday in Paris, he stressed that despite the financial crisis, the Islamic World still disburses 20 percent of the budget earmarked for education to higher education, in addition to the expenditures borne by students and parents.

He added that the education system is still vulnerable in most Islamic countries, owing to little attention paid to scientific research and a lack of interaction with the existing social and economic institutions.

In this context, he pointed out that the average expenditure on scientific research in the Islamic world stands at 0.4 percent of the gross national product (GNP). The rate reaches 3 percent in industrialized countries and, according to international experts, it should not be under 1 percent of the GNP in order to meet the minimum standards required for development.

The ISESCO director general urged the Islamic countries to adopt clear-cut policies to foster their negotiating abilities, promote joint ventures and facilitate integration into the global economy, with a view to securing positive interaction with globalization and the leading economic blocs taking shape.

Al-Twaijri argued that the present conditions constitute a challenge that should be met by higher education institutions as boldly as possible. These institutions should also contribute to the setting up of national strategies geared to fight illiteracy, unemployment and mismanagement of national resources, he said.