Arab states need to improve education for growth: report

Dubai: The Arab region lags far behind the rest of the world in knowledge and education, but has not reached the point of no return, the Arab Knowledge Report 2009, released on Wednesday, said.

The report, a joint initiative between the Regional Bureau for Arab States (RBAS) at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF), was presented at the two-day Arab Strategy Forum, which started at the Mina A'Salam hotel.

The report lays out in detail the failings of Arab governments in reform, alleviation of poverty, encouragement of development and innovation.

It blames war, corruption, lack of appropriate legislation, extreme consumerism, radicalism and the stifling of freedom as having put education in the back-seat and hampered development.

It does however say that awareness about the need of setting up knowledge-based societies is growing.