Cairo University
During these years, thousands would travel to Europe (mainly the UK and France) on scholarships, mostly sponsored by their local governments, to study the latest biological, physical and social sciences, and bring them back. These professors were then given positions in the fledgling Arab universities to ‘transfer’ what they learned to more people.
At the same time, professors from the best universities overseas were invited to spend some time in these Arab universities. It was normal practice to see foreign professors in these universities, mingling and working with their Arab counterparts, while teaching students from a very different culture.
Thus these universities truly became centres of enlightenment in the region. They were held in high regard and respect by everyone and the faculty and students themselves carried this enlightenment beyond the universities walls to the average person on the street.
Then, starting from the mid-80’s, the number of scholarships started to decrease sharply. The governments just weren’t as interested as before in sending people abroad for their post-graduate studies. Their argument was that “we have already received the science we need from the West, we don’t need to send people there now.”
By that time, there were several post-graduate programmes in the region and more opportunities for university graduates to continue learning locally rather than travelling abroad. Consequently, the number of visiting professors dropped drastically (because the governments saw they didn’t need them anymore and they cost too much). It is now very rare to see a non-Arab professor in a public university in one of the Arab states.
The universities were getting crowded, the quality of education was dropping, and that beacon of enlightenment started to wane.
The problem is that the governments got it all wrong (at least so in my opinion). The universities weren’t flourishing because they needed Western science at that period, they were flourishing from the interactions between the Western professors and their Arab counterparts. They flourished because, by it’s very nature, science was becoming an international, cross-border affair.
More important than the science that was coming from the West was fermenting a science culture in the Arab world after decades of marginalizing science in the past.
The Arab world is slowly realizing this, which is why the richer Gulf States in particular have started to collaborate with international institutes to promote science and research. By becoming part of the international science community, rather than isolating itself, they stand their best shot at realizing their dream of becoming knowledge-based societies.
These international collaborative issues do not need to focus on the developed world only. The developing world is just as important a partner, as it faces similar problems like the rest of the Arab world and thus the collaborations would be more meaningful for both parties.
And, as a bonus side effect, these collaborations give the best shot ever at bridging an ever-expanding misunderstanding between the West and the Arab world. Science is one universal language that has done more for diplomacy and promoting understanding than most other efforts exerted by the West so far!
Maybe its time for the West to give science diplomacy a real shot rather than half-hearted efforts.
A very important question related to this subject is whether the decision makers in the Arab world believe in science and technology as a major part of their national security.
The very low budget spent on research and development by most Arab countries () will clearly answer this question.
Indeed, there is still a large gap between Arab countries and the international community in scientific research spending. According to the Jordanian newspaper al-Majd, spending on scientific research in all Arab countries did not exceed 0.5% of GDP in 1992, which is a small percentage compared to those in Sweden and France, where it reached 2.9% and 2.7% of GDP, respectively.
In 1999, the percentage of GDP expenditures on scientific research was 0.4% in Egypt, 0.33% in Jordan, 0.2% in Morocco, and 0.1% in each of Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. The 2004 UNESCO data indicates that Arab countries combined allocated $1.7 billion for scientific research, a rate which is equivalent to 0.3% of their GDP.
The government sector finances about 80% of the total funding dedicated for research and development in the Arab countries, compared with 3% by the private sector and 8% from different sources. This is in contrast to developed countries and Israel, where the share of the private sector finances 70% in Japan and 52% in Israel, the United States and other nations.
This demonstrates the lack of private investment in the development process in the Arab world.
Another important element is the Absence of a Clear Strategy for Scientific Research in the Arab world. Most Arab countries lack a well designed scientific and technological policy. So far, there is no informatics industry in the Arab world, and there are no special funds to finance research and development. This is in addition to the bureaucracy, the administrative and organizational problems, and the neglect of ongoing training.
There is no doubt that many Arab countries have all the human resources and academic capabilities to advance in this field, provided that they adopt a clear strategy for scientific research, allocate a reasonable percentage of their national income on scientific research, and that the expenditures be specifically directed towards applied research.
The low level of financial support for scientific research has meant that researchers have utilized 31% of their working time.
Moreover, there is poor or a lack of relationship between industry and business on one hand, and academic and non-academic research institutions on the other hand, which further exacerbates the problem.
Reference (Scientific Research in Arab Countries – Facts and Figures, by Dr. Imad Alaw: https://memrieconomicblog.org/bin/content.cgi?article=91).
Wonderful analysis of the current situation Dr. Dermime!
You see this is where a lot of Arab states are now realizing their faults. Qatar has already committed to raising science expenditure to 2.8% GDP while Egypt has announced plans to reach 2% within the next five years.
It is also interesting you mention the private sector since Egypt is trying to reach out to the private sector and get them more interested in research.
I guess we can only wait and see how far the Arab Spring will carry Arab science ahead…
This is a good article by Mr. Mohammed Yehia.I believe there are several problems that lead to the inferior state our scientific achievements and interest is in Arab world including:
1-The lack of Social scientific culture,where our society encourage its individuals to grow up to work in technical fields,mostly(Medical doctor,Engineering,Military)without interest in creativity and scientific achievement.
2-The lack of a clear governmental plan to support scientific researches in the different fields of science.
3-Absence of a united Arabian education strategy supported by Arabian League.
4-High Life expenses with low salaries in scientific majors especially in Lebanon,Syria Egypt and Jordan.
5-Absence of Job Opportunities in science majors ,and the law Number of Research centers and funds in Arab world.