EDUCATION ARAB NATIONS
education system needs further reforms to meet the needs of economic development and high unemployment. Unlike most of the GCC, nationals comprise some 60 per cent of leading private schools numbers. Kuwait now has the Australian College of Kuwait, the Box Hill College Kuwait (for girls), and the University of Canberra has helped establish the Centre for Customs & Excise Studies. The new basic curriculum in Oman has largely been
successful in bringing Oman’s primary education sector in line with international standards. The Oman Accreditation Council (OAC) monitors educational standards, which are based on those of Australian Universities Quality Agency and the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education. Sultan Qaboos University has a memorandum of
understanding for academic cooperation with the University of Melbourne and the Sultan of Oman has endowed a seat of Islamic Studies there. Oman has also expanded tertiary education by licensing private universities. Sohar University was the first of these, with the University of Queensland providing quality assurance to its courses. Bond University provides quality assurance to Sur University College’s degree programs. The education sector in Qatar is developing with immense
per capita investment. Foreign universities and vocational colleges have been introduced and a schools education reform program has seen 50 new independent schools open during the last five years. Qatar’s Supreme Education Council (SEC) was formed
to drive reform. International school support organisations provide assistance and consultation. Education Queensland International manages project teams including educational consultants, translators, school leaders, advisors and subject specialists in English, maths and science. Holmesglen TAFE has a five-year project in association with Qatar Petroleum, delivering mainly Certificate I−III level training in engineering. Saudi Arabia introduced education reform in 2004 with
a comprehensive 10-year plan to educate a new generation of youth with the values and faith of Islam, and to equip
Iraqi medical students, at Basra University College of Medicine listen to a
lecture by U.S. Army Maj. Anthony Rudd, in Basra, Iraq, Mar. 16, 2010. Rudd, of 486th Civil Affairs Battalion, attached to 1st Infantry Division, delivered the educational presentation on chest pain. Photo by Staff Sgt. Adelita Mead
them with knowledge and skills, especially in technology. VET opportunities abound, as Saudi Arabia is setting up 160 vocational training centres to help meet its target of creating 3.6 million jobs within 10 years. Cooperation agreements have been signed with industrially advanced countries, including Australia, to develop programs, curricula, educational media and training methods, in addition to the training of Saudis. In the UAE, education reform has mainly taken place
at emirate rather than federal level. Abu Dhabi has established the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) and Dubai established the Knowledge & Human Development Authority (KHDA). ADEC‘s Strategic Plan (2009-2018) is a comprehensive model addressing everything from teacher qualifications and curriculum learning outcomes to classroom layout and school facilities. New South Wales has helped develop the new schools curriculum. Vocational Education & Training Institute Abu Dhabi (VETI) is a partnership between ADEC and TAFE NSW. Sharjah has embraced Australian education with the
establishment of two schools: the Australian International School (with Queensland curriculum) and the Victoria International School of Sharjah (owned by the Government of Sharjah and in partnership with the State of Victoria). Haileybury College (Melbourne) is establishing in Al Ain. At the universities level, the University of Wollongong
set up in Dubai in 1993. More recently, Murdoch University established a campus in Dubai in 2008, while the Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) has had an office in the UAE for six years.
Australia – a destination There were 631,935 international students studying in Australia in December 2009, an increase of 16.8 per cent on the previous year. The numbers from Arab countries totalled 20,898 – quadruple that of 2005 − with 15,706 of these from the GCC. p
Cairo University is a European-inspired public institution that has undergone extensive expansion. Photo by: AlMustashriqa
Peter Deacon AUSTRALIA AND THE ARAB COUNTRIES | 2010 91
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