Strengthening Education in the Muslim World Country Profiles and Analysis PPC ISSUE WORKING PAPER NO
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Strengthening Education in the Muslim World Country Profiles and Analysis PPC ISSUE WORKING PAPER NO. PAPER WORKING PPC ISSUE 1 Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination April 2004 PN-ACW-877 This Issue Working Paper can be ordered from USAID’s Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC). To download or order publications, go to www.dec.org and enter the document identification number in the search box. The DEC may also be contacted at 8403 Colesville Rd, Ste 210, Silver Spring, MD 20910; tel 301-562-0641; fax 301-588-7787; email [email protected]. Editorial, design, and production assistance was provided by IBI-International Business Initiatives, Arlington, VA, under contract no. HFM-C-00-01-00143-00. For more information, contact IBI’s Publications and Graphics Support Project at 703-525-2277 or [email protected]. RELATED PUBLICATIONS Strengthening Education in the Muslim World: Summary of the Desk Study (PN-ACT-009) Strengthening Education in the Muslim World Country Profiles and Analysis April 2004 Contents Abbreviations and Acronyms v Preface vii Uzbekistan 1 Egypt 9 Morocco 17 Yemen 25 Bangladesh 31 Pakistan 43 Indonesia 55 Malaysia 65 Nigeria 73 Guinea, Mali, Senegal 81 Abbreviations and Acronyms ADB Asian Development Bank Afr. Dev. Bank African Development Bank AusAID Australian Agency for International Development BRAC Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee CIDA Canadian International Development Agency Comm. Sec. Commonwealth Secretariat DANIDA Danish International Development Agency DEO District Education Officer (Pakistan) DFID Department for International Development (U.K.) EU European Union FINNIDA Finnish International Development Agency FMG Federal Ministry of Education (Nigeria) GNI Gross National Income GTZ German Aid Agency—Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit HDI Human Development Index HuT Hizb-ut-Tahrir (Uzbekistan) IAIN State Institute of Islamic Studies ICG International Crisis Group IESAB Islamic Education and Social Affairs Board (Nigeria) IFES International Foundation for Election Systems IMU Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan JBIC Japan Bank for International Cooperation JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency JUI Jamiet-e-Ulema-e-Islam (Pakistan) LEAP Literacy Enhancement Assistance Project MNE Ministry of National Education (Morocco) NEP National Education Philosophy (Malaysia) NWFP North West Frontier Province (Pakistan) ppp purchasing power parity PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper RFA Request for Assistance (USAID) SDF Social Development Fund (Yemen) SIDA Swedish International Development Agency SO Strategic Objective (USAID) UBE Universal Basic Education (Nigeria) UNDP United Nations Development Programme v Strengthening Education in the Muslim World Preface To advance USAID's understanding of how better to support the educational needs of the Muslim world, the Office of Development Evaluation and Information in USAID's Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination (PPC) undertook a three-month desk study to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of secular and Islamic educational systems in 12 Muslim countries. Its methodology was based on secondary research and interviews with a small sample of experts. The major findings and conclusions of this study appeared in Strengthening Education in the Muslim World: Summary of the Desk Study (PN-ACT-009) by Sharon Benoliel. The country profiles in this report are based on research and a preliminary report prepared by Matt Seymour, Uzma Anzar, Nina Etyemezian, and Victor Farren. Revisions were made by Sharon Benoliel, Maxine Pitter Lunn, Emily Gosse, and Katie Croake. Revisions included correcting some inaccuracies found in the country profiles in the preliminary report and providing additional information on Islamic schools. Time constraints and the desk study format limited the amount of data that could be collected and analyzed, the extent of revisions, and the comprehensiveness of citations. Nevertheless, the report contains information and analyses that may be very useful to USAID field missions. For further information, contact [email protected]. Editorial, design, and production assistance was furnished by IBI-International Business Initiatives, Arlington, Va. Sharon Benoliel Strengthening Education in the Muslim World vii 1. Uzbekistan Table 1.1. Uzbekistan Country Profile Demographic Indicators Total population (millions) . 24.8 Muslim population as a percentage of total population. 88 Population under age 15 as a percentage of total population. 39 Rural population as a percentage of total population . 63.1 GNI per capita (ppp, current international $) . $2,360 Total fertility rate . 2.6 Human Development Index. 0.7 Education Indicators Primary Primary gross enrollment ratio . 100 Primary gender parity index . – Primary net enrollment ratio. 100 Apparent gross intake rate . – Adult primary completion rate . – Primary repeaters as a percentage of total enrollment . – Primary student/teacher ratio . – Secondary Secondary gross enrollment ratio. 95 Secondary gender parity index . – Secondary net enrollment ratio . – Adult secondary completion rate. – Tertiary Tertiary students per 100,000 inhabitants . – Adult tertiary completion rate. – Literacy Adult literacy rate . – Female adult literacy rate. – Male adult literacy rate . – Finance Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GNP . 7.7 Public expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure. 21.1 Public expenditure on primary education as a percentage of total education expenditure . – Strengthening Education in the Muslim World 1 Introduction Characteristics f the 15 new countries that became inde- One year after independence, the Government of pendent from the Soviet Union in 1991, Uzbekistan introduced new curricula and text- Uzbekistan has the third largest population books, a new testing system, and new accreditation O methods for colleges and universities. The (25 million) and the fourth largest land area. About 45 percent of the population is under 20. Education Act of 1992 also mandated compulsory Ethnically, the country’s population is approximate- education for nine years. Although UNESCO ly 80 percent Uzbek, 5.5 percent Russian, 5 percent notes that the National Program of Personnel Tajik, 3 percent Kazakh, 2.5 percent Karakalpak, Training is working toward 12 years, other sources 1.5 percent Tatar, and 2.5 percent “other.” Some say the government has no plan to mandate more ethnic minorities live in enclave areas with native- than nine. In addition, a new emphasis was placed language institutions such as schools. Most on courses in Uzbek history and culture and Uzbeks—88 percent—are Muslim, primarily Sunni, increasing the supply of Uzbek language textbooks while 9 percent are Eastern Orthodox.1 in many fields. The Uzbek Government’s program to restructure a Recently, two new types of schools have been intro- Soviet-era centralized education system is hampered duced in Uzbekistan: a three-year lyceum (or lycée) by declining budgets, crumbling infrastructure, that prepares students for higher education and a teacher attrition, and declining public confidence. three-year professional college. The college trains In 2001, there were 5.6 million students at the pri- students for professional careers in industry and mary level and 364,971 at the secondary level, but services, leaving open the possibility of further these numbers are dropping.2 State investment in higher education. The government has invested education as a percentage of the GDP is also drop- significant sums in building new specialized and ping, though not as precipitously as in other vocational schools, though some claim this comes Central Asian Republics.3 at the expense of basic education. An estimated 7 million pupils will enroll in these new schools over the next 10 years. In sharp contrast with the past, Public Education System the European Union (EU) reports an unprecedent- The education system in Uzbekistan is well devel- ed 90 percent of these pupils will enroll in voca- oped and accessible to all. The country’s literacy tional education and training.4 Other sources feel rate is nearly 100 percent and nine years of basic this is an overly optimistic projection, given real education is compulsory for both boys and girls. and perceived problems with modernizing the However, quality is definitely on the decline. Fewer vocational education curricula. children attend preprimary education than in the Soviet era due to fewer opportunities, changing Challenges family dynamics (resurgence of traditional gender Access. There are access challenges at all levels of the roles), and economics (fewer state enterprises will- system. Old buildings are deteriorating and lack ing to finance preschools). Schooling in years adequate sanitation, but money to upgrade them is 10–12 is available at academic lycées (university-ori- in short supply. In 1992, about 8,500 schools in ented high schools), technical colleges, and special- rural areas ran on double shifts because money to ized and vocational schools. The languages of build new schools was not available.5 Traditionally, instruction are Uzbek and Russian. For minority state-owned enterprises—not the education min- schools, Uzbek and Russian are compulsory, in istries—funded preprimary schools. As state enter- addition to the minority language of the school. In prises privatized and cut back on such activities, 1993, the law transferring written Uzbek to Latin enrollments dropped to one-half the 1990 level, script came into effect;