The World Bank damning report on education and human development “The Road Not Traveled: Education Reform in the Middle East and North Africa” should shame all Arab leaders and their educational ministers and the civil society and intellectuals. Simply there is nothing to be proud of.

While the 359 page report notes some progress, the report recommends the institutions of crucial reforms to education if the Arab countries are to combat the high rate of unemployment.  While the Arab world have been successful in building high rise commercial offices it is failing at the most important asset it has, its people and of course for obvious reasons. The Arab World never bothered to invest in its human capital and when it does it decided to send them to useless and failed wars like the case of Saddam.

Jordan was listed at the first in the Arab world in education and as someone who was educated in a Jordanian based education while Jordan ruled the West Bank I can say; with much pride we did have an excellent elementary, secondary and even high school education. Yes the schools were bare; the class rooms were freezing cold in the winter, with toilets a walking distance from the main building. But we had excellent teachers and we had excellent curriculum. Too bad Jordan did not build on such a solid base attracting high tech industry to Jordan, rather the policy was to promote the export of administrative and functionaries to the Arab Gulf to work in offices and to attack low level paying industry such as textile. The former Crown Prince of Jordan, Prince Hassan did not succeed in building a solid economy with good educated class as its base.

Not surprising that Morocco came in last in North Africa and 126 among nations world wide. In my work I travel by car to all parts of Morocco and while seeing major changes taking place with new schools and new boarding schools for rural areas, Morocco has a long way to go.

The issue is not modern schools with indoor swimming pool, air-conditioned buildings or indoor toilets with hot and cold water and cafeterias, the issue is sold education and curriculum and of course the most important thing, teachers, well educated, dedicated and informed with solid basis in the material they teach. Moroccan schools today are no different from the schools I attended when I was growing up in the West Bank town of El-Bireh. However the course material was first class and teachers were even better than first class, they were simply great. They loved teaching, dedicated teachers and yes, they were born teachers. Morocco is another story.

Here in Morocco, the public, at least those who could afford it, are abandoning public/government schools by the tens of thousands, taking their children out of government schools and enrolling them in private schools even if this is putting so much financial burdens on the families. Leaving them with difficult choices either a decent education for their children or affordable homes. The jury is out on these “private” schools where like housing, opening and running private schools is a big business, with more interest in making money fast rather than commitment to education. I am sure the money Moroccan are spending on private education, profit oriented education, could finance and could sponsor so many run down, marginalized education system.

While not expert at public education, however as a parent and someone with professional education I could say that the Moroccan education system needs more than reform. It needs to be buried and a new one invented in its place. It is not worth fixing.

No one could believe that children go to school in the morning from 8 am to 12 and then from 2 to 5 with some children going all the way to 6 pm, giving children little time to rest after classes, little time to study and do homework and little time to engage in after schools such as sports, theater, music and etc. While not seeing the curriculum offered at public school all I can say as an employer, there is serious problem with the quality of graduates. And yes, there are some exceptions and I have seen some of the brightest students one can come across. Professional education is not different than public education. Not sure if anyone bothered to see to see what future employer wants and needs in high school or college graduates. Rather there is almost no input whatsoever from those who have to hire the tens of thousands who graduate every year.

More troublesome is the lack of parents input and participations in the development of public education and certainly the lack of input of all stakeholders in the development of solid first class education in Morocco. Public education and its development is the last thing on the agenda, in a country where high unemployment is dangerously high and where extremism finds fertile ground.

Higher education is no different from secondary and elementary education, with universities run down, broken windows, painting peelings from the wall and all buildings and class room facilities have seen much better times perhaps last century. That is not to say there are no exceptional professors who are a match to the best and brightest any where and the same is true of some students and I have the honor and privilege to work with and mentor some very bright students. However these are not the rule but rather the very rare exceptions.

I have been trying for few years to enlist a number of leading citizens to sponsor and work with me on establishing an American university in Morocco modeled after the American University of Beirut and American University of Cairo with very little success and support from government officials whether on the national level or the local level. And certainly little support from the private sectors with every one looking for a way to make a killing on higher education. There is simply no reason whatsoever for Morocco not to have an American university and there are no reason whatsoever for Morocco not to have one, two or even three private universities to compete with public and government universities and even compete with the Al-Akhawayen University in Efran.

One would think that a country with limited natural resources will make education and human capital development the number one priority even more important that tourism. A well educated and well invested in human capital is a recurring natural resource that does not depend on rain or what security consultant can advice the tourist industry.

Morocco is a country with such a great potential and great future and with so much untapped human resources that can make Morocco not number 126 but among the top ten or top twenty among the nations. Yes, it takes money, but frankly not so much money to re-invest and re-qualify teachers and most important to re-invent a new educational system from scratch. The present system proved a failure and should be totally scrapped and a new one put in place where all stakeholders, policy makers, professional educators, parents, students and employers should have a say so. And yes inshallah we will succeed in the founding of an American University in Morocco.

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