I can never forget the childish joy on the face of that elderly man in his seventies the day we graduated from university and how happy he was, just like all of us, to receive his university degree after a long wait.

The age difference between the graduates was remarkable and many people did not know that those old folks were fresh graduates who had just received their first university degrees. Seeing some ‘old' students at the University of Wisconsin, in the US where I received my first university degree was not an unusual scene.

Many of them were graduate students, where schools admit students from all age groups and from different scientific and cultural backgrounds.

The ‘university' is the heart of any city. It sends direct and sincere messages to the members of society about the importance of education for everyone. At that time in Wisconsin, I understood the meaning of the term ‘education for all' and that it is a ‘right' for everybody regardless of age, sex or language. This right is guaranteed by the society and is guarded by applicable laws and regulations.

The West employs a simple and convenient system that allows those who had dropped out of the educational system to go back to school without the red tape and bureaucratic procedures faced by school dropouts and elder students in the Arab world.

A friend tells me that a high school diploma is the most difficult certificate a person can get if he or she has decided to go back to school long after dropping out of school.

Complicated administrative processes, which the West overcame long ago, stand in the way of those who want to go back to school. I ask my friend about the reasons behind all these complications. "Ask the ministry of education," he replies.

Institutions of higher education in developed countries play a vital role in serving their societies in general and the individual in particular. They are essential elements of the communities around them. They direct all their efforts to help society, the main recipient of their educational services.

Universities in developed countries focus on achieving integration and interaction between them and society. They play a direct role in developing the societies and in making social changes by linking education with the needs of society.

Isolated islands

This cannot be achieved if universities are isolated islands far from what is happening in the city and society, or if members of society are never in direct contact with the universities even if they live next door to them.

Western universities open their doors to the public all day long so that they may benefit from the services they offer and take part in the different activities held there such as seminars, cultural and scientific activities in addition to continuing education classes and programmes.

Universities in the Arab world, on the other hand, offer a lot of classes and courses to individuals. These programmes, however, are not popular among the public and are attended by very few people.

Lack of publicity and organised and scientific attempts to communicate the message, contribute to widening the gap between the university and the public. Just count how many of your acquaintances have attended or participated in an educational or cultural activity in any of our local universities lately!

In my opinion, the ‘individual' is absent from the cultural and scientific activities held at our universities (if any) due to reasons the security guard at the gate cannot explain. We expect institutions of higher education to play a more active role and to offer their services to all members of the community and not just the students inside.

This noble goal can be attained through different initiatives such as partnering with different sectors of society and educating the public about the leading role universities can play in the communities around them. More importantly, university doors need to be open to all so that they are not seen as cities within our cities.

Jamal Al Shehhi is an Emirati writer.