Education in The Arab World.... by Jamil Shawwa

In my opinion, and I lived in couple of places in The Middle East and The Arab World, that, well, probably again as in any society in the world, education starts with the family and then schools. The main problem in the education system in the Arab world is that it is so centralized and so under the complete and sole responsibilities of the governments. There are of course private schools as anywhere else, but the focus of this piece here is on public education. Schools in the Arab world are not schools but are shelters to put the children in, open their brains and pour the information, then close the brains on anything else. There is no creativity and there is no training on how to think. The education should be based on the following, and I am talking from my own experience with the education in four places: Gaza, Jerusalem, Cairo, and the United States:
1- Free education for all up to 12th grade, secondary school. Decentralized the schools to accept funds, and donations and create a parallel PTA system- Parents Teachers Association to monitor and support the school system. Public schools in America are free until the end of high school. PTAs help schools be better, raise funds, participate in school activities and maintain the schools physically with the help of the local governments, the state and the county.
2- No more, free higher education. My law school in Cairo University was like a warehouse and not a place for enlightenment. Once, I had -arguably- a mentally retarded dean by the name of Dr. Noman Gomaa, who became later the chairman of Al-Wafd political party and then was kicked out for trying to dictate and at some point violently his ways on the party; he was calling for democracy and he was the ultimate dictator. While he was dean of law school at Cairo University, he banned us, the students, from entering the main entrance of the main building and ordered the staff to administer the student work through windows from the outside. This dean is not the exception. Egypt's example applies probably to every Arab country; I mentioned it because I happened to study there and not to pick on the country. Egypt has contributed tremendously to the overall modernity in the Arab world and it continues to do so.
3- Free, the government or the state owned universities, meaning, create board of trustees to run the universities as in all advanced societies. The board of Trustees is responsible to raise funds and establish the overall policies. This type of universities- as in the US- though technically established and funded by public funds, it is chartered to run its own affairs and it has complete independence under the overall general guidelines of the state.
4- Allow, based on a credential process, the establishment of private schools. It exists right now in almost every Arab country but it needs to be more encouraged.
5- Most importantly and hopefully, as in any advanced society, companies and individuals once they see the transparency and the credibility of the school system, would donate funds for their schools and colleges. Business people and private companies and organizations are not encouraged to donate, they feel that their donations might open a can of warms as for the source of their fortunes. In a culture that believes in conspiracy theories, self-doubt and random and baseless accusation, people with means to contribute are extremely discouraged. Education is a lifetime process, it starts through the parents or the guardians from the moment the child opens its eyes to the end. In between the start and the end, there are many stages, schools are the spine of education, straighten the spine and the whole body will be straight and healthy.