The six nations that form the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are attempting to strike a balance between the output of education and the requirements of their socio-economic development. This involves implementing a modernisation process aimed at developing the quality of education.
The UAE is seeking to bring about radical changes in its quest to develop the quality of education with the Abu Dhabi Education Council, chaired by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, at the forefront of the strategy.
"We are betting on highly qualified cadres moving up to advanced levels of performance and excellence," Shaikh Mohammad said in a statement issued recently.
Reforms
In Qatar, Shaikha Mousa Bint Nasser Al Missned is leading a comprehensive education reform process and empowering Qatari women to play a larger role in the development of the country.
Within this context, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of students studying modern scientific disciplines such as nuclear energy, aviation and telecommunications abroad.
It is true that GCC countries have made significant progress in education in the past three decades; however, this progress focused on quantitative aspects due to education-related considerations on one hand and the huge needs of economic growth on the other.
Changes
Nevertheless, GCC countries are now witnessing changes related to education styles and methods that are completely different from previous ones. The focus now is on quality and modernisation in line with the unique changes that GCC communities have witnessed in socio-economic infrastructure.
In addition, there are changes in the structure of international economic and strategic relations which require local cadres empowered with skills that enable them not only to deal with their local surroundings, but also with the world.
The GCC states are intent on learning from the experiences of other countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea, which achieved great developmental leaps thanks to the attention they paid to education.The GCC strategy seeks to change previous approaches, which did not contribute to the development process because of they favoured literary arts over applied science.
This modern education strategy is not a form of westernisation, as has been claimed by some analysts. On the contrary, it focuses on enhancing national identity by giving nationals the qualifications to contribute to society. This strategy also aims at teaching GCC students the history of their countries in a manner that encourages openness and tolerance.
Growth
The development of this kind of education is expected to coincide with high economic growth rates over the next few years due to the expansion and development of non-oil economic sectors.
These sectors have attracted huge investment particularly in renewable energy, transport infrastructure and logistics, manufacturing industries, telecommunications.
Surely, such developments require having advanced education methods that give citizens the expertise to make use of scientific and technical progress.
A harmonious marriage between development requirements and education strategies would contribute to the localisation of modern technologies rather than the continuous reliance on imported technologies.
Imported technology
The reliance on imported technologies is attributed to the weakness of scientific research centres. Consequently, it is critical that GCC countries lay a strong foundation based on development-oriented education strategies considered the driving force of development.
In this regard, GCC countries can benefit from the experiences of other countries by increasing financial allocations for scientific research centres to 2 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. This transformed these countries into scientific research hubs in keeping with the modernisation process for the development of education.
Dr Mohammad Al Asoomi is a UAE economic expert.
