Education in the Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities

For several centuries the Middle East was socially, economically, and technologically advanced. One of the reasons for this was its people’s appreciation of and openness to knowledge creation and dissemination. This trend lasted from the 8th to the 13th centuries (Aubert and Reiffers 2003). Knowledge became the most important and determining factor for economic growth. The impact and contribution of this wealth of knowledge were felt and appreciated across different sectors and disciplines and acknowledged beyond the region and around the world. However, things changed drastically in the 18th and 19th centuries following the Industrial Revolution. In the 21st century, with oil exploration and an economic boom in some parts of the region, investment and attention was redirected to building state of the art infrastructure in various sectors, including education and health, as Middle Eastern countries prepared to engage with and integrate in the knowledge society. To date, investments allocated to sectors such as education, information infrastructure, research and development, and innovation have been insufficient in most Middle Eastern countries (Aubert and Reiffers 2003), when compared to other regions, including emerging economies.