In two vastly contrasting worlds, with different ethical, value-based, and social systems, education remains a critical and decisive process that determines the future of nations and positions societies among others. The development of the educational process is a clear indicator of the progress of some countries and the decline of others.

Interestingly, what distinguishes the West today in terms of education and teaching methods was what the Islamic world excelled in historically, presenting exemplary models of successful educational systems. While Arabs abandoned their ancestors' heritage and resorted to imitation, the West developed and advanced its systems, leading to a stark difference between a nation seeking the essence and truth of knowledge and one content with its form and appearance.

What are the most notable differences between the educational processes in the Arab and Western worlds? How did education become one of the key reasons for the West's advancement? How do Arab students studying abroad perceive Western education? This and more are explored in this report by “Al-Mujtama.”

A nation that seeks to rise and overcome its disputes and backwardness must prioritize the educational process.

 It's not surprising that the first ayahs of the Quran command reading and learning, as knowledge builds a person, giving them value and status. Even when Allah created Adam, He taught him what He did not teach the angels, Allah says, “And He taught Adam the names - all of them.” (Al-Baqarah: 31), making that knowledge a shield against corruption and bloodshed.

A nation aiming to rise and overcome its disputes and backwardness must place education at the forefront of its priorities. This focus should not be on education as a national service but on the educational process itself, how students benefit from it, and how it aligns with labor market needs. Otherwise, it would be like a heavy burden with no benefit.

Historically, the state's system in the Arab and Islamic regions relied on the endowment system, where essential needs like health and education were decentralized. Thus, the collapse of a political system did not necessarily mean the collapse of civilization, including education and health.

For example, when the Ottoman Empire reached its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries, the educational system relied on various types of schools. First were the religious schools established in mosques or their annexes, later moving to independent buildings, aimed at producing graduates for judicial and religious institutions like judges, teachers, and muftis. These schools offered a high level of education, teaching various subjects beyond religious sciences, such as philosophy, logic, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, and history.

The second type was the saray (palace) schools, established to educate Ottoman family members and prepare officials for saray duties.

The educational methodology in the West relies on critical thinking and innovation, whereas in our countries, the focus is on memorization and repetition.

Military schools aimed to prepare military officers and state officials. There were also local schools, including boys' schools, and the Grand Istanbul School, established by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror as the first university, teaching four primary sciences: religious, literary, mathematical, and natural sciences.

Modern education entered the Ottoman Empire in 1839, transforming to the Western model at the time.

The West developed a different educational system stemming from intellectual culture and the Enlightenment revolution during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries. An economic need arose for educated individuals to meet job requirements, and with increased production came the need to market goods, which required continuous employment for sustenance and luxuries. This created a sort of a closed-loop system.

The educational system was designed to provide all students with the same material at the same age to ensure a continuous supply of employees for the economy. Over time, this system began to have significant impacts on individual freedom and society.

Currently, the educational process in the West has evolved, whereas it has not undergone the same development in Arab countries. The system remains a closed process producing semi-educated individuals, sidelining religious, cultural, and moral education, and relying heavily on foreign and cultural curricula, causing a cultural identity crisis among children.

Despite the scientific advancement in the West contributing to prosperity, the ethical and moral aspects remain marginalized in the educational process.

Education in the Ottoman Empire, for example, took into account the individual needs of students. The teaching method relied on the student's ability to recall, research, and study independently, resulting in different outcomes compared to current public schools. Education was generally outside state control, with many revolutions and oppositions originating from the heart of religious schools. This type of education created a balance between state authority and the power of the people, providing a relatively greater degree of individual freedom.

What Distinguish the West?

The most prominent differences between the Arab and Western worlds lie in the current educational methodology. In the West, the focus is on critical thinking and innovation. Students are encouraged to be curious and explore knowledge independently, whereas in the Arab world, the focus is often on memorization and repetition. The educational system tends to be more routine-oriented than skill and innovation-oriented.

It is also noticeable that the West widely uses technology in education, such as cloud computing, e-learning, and innovative educational applications. In contrast, the Arab world faces challenges in fully adopting technology in education due to differences in infrastructure and technological requirements.

Western educational structures rely on the freedom to choose educational paths and specializations, allowing for flexibility and diversity in fields of study. In the Arab world, there may be restrictions on choosing educational paths, often favoring certain specializations over others.

Western educational culture encourages learning from mistakes and experiences, valuing innovation and failure as essential parts of the learning process. In contrast, the Arab world may have evaluative tendencies that prefer immediate success and focus on test results more than on creative work.

In Western education, there is an emphasis on the outcomes of the educational process and its alignment with the labor market's needs and the requirements for the country's development. In most Arab countries, the evaluation is often based on performance alone and the smooth running of the educational process, such as teachers attending classes and delivering lessons, regardless of the final output and the job market's needs.

Our Children Between Two Worlds

“Al-Mujtama” spoke with several Arab students who completed their university or postgraduate studies in Europe. The main differences they found between education in their Arab countries and in Western countries can be summarized as follows:

1. Freedom to choose a field of specialization even before completing secondary education. In some European countries, a student can switch to studying a particular field, such as the arts, if they have a passion for it, even before completing pre-university years.
2. Training in thinking methods rather than just scientific subjects, so that the student learns to analyze problems and solve them, engage in critical thinking, and learn how to learn, acquire information, and develop skills, making learning a continuous process not limited to academic studies.

The Arab and Islamic world has a rich value system rooted in Islam and consistent with human nature.

3. Education through applications and models via challenge-based learning, encouraging students to apply what they have learned. Students often work on projects, and at certain educational stages, there is a project for each subject as an application of the academic content.
4. Comprehensive education, studying subjects other than the specialization to ensure that the student is aware of various concepts beyond their field. For instance, an engineering graduate would have knowledge of other sciences such as humanities, medicine, or economics.
5. Emphasis on openness to other cultures, with many Western universities providing opportunities for students to travel and support them in learning about their fields in other countries, and to learn skills in dealing with different cultures.
6. Alignment with labor market needs, focusing scientific specializations on industries in which the country excels. For example, if a country is advanced in the automotive industry, engineering college specializations revolve around this industry. Hence, specializations align with the labor market.

These effective educational principles currently in the West were present in the Arab and Islamic world before adopting old Western systems. Students had the freedom to choose their subjects. In most Arab countries, boys learned writing, the Quran, and basic grammar. Once they mastered these subjects and skills, they listened to poetry and hadith. Some continued studying and delved deeper into one or more religious, literary, or scientific subjects, depending on the child's readiness and ability to learn and transition to the next educational stage.

Muslim scholars often traveled to learn and gain knowledge and interact with other societies, such as Imam Al-Shafi'i, who was born in the Levant and undertook a rich academic journey through Mecca, Medina, Yemen, Baghdad, and Egypt.

Many Muslim scholars excelled in multiple sciences, not just one, like Ibn Sina, who was a physician, philosopher, writer, and poet. There are numerous examples in this regard.

Despite the scientific progress in the West, which has contributed to prosperity and development, the ethical and moral aspect remains on the margins of the educational process. Sometimes schools and universities even encourage what contradicts human nature. We must acknowledge that this scientific progress has flaws because one of the roles of science is to discipline and refine human behavior.

In contrast, the Arab and Islamic world possesses a rich value system derived from Islam and consistent with human nature. If this were supported by advanced education, it would build a great civilization, not just mere development!

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Educational issues remain highly sensitive and critically important topic for societies and countries. They are given priority, allocated budgets, and researchers and experts devote their efforts and expertise to develop and advance societies to occupy a high and advanced position among nations. To discuss educational issues in Sudan, we sat with Dr. Yasser Mohamed Maki Abu Harraz, the former Director of the National Center for Educational Research and Curriculum, and the former Director of the National Center for Teacher Training, to present him with a set of issues related to the education in Sudan.

First, we would like to get a general overview of the development of education in Sudan over the past years.

– The Ministry of Education in Sudan has regularly held national conferences on education for review, development, and alignment with the overall educational system in the country. The first National Conference on Education was held in 1969, during which the educational ladder was changed to a (6, 3, 3) system instead of the (4, 4, 4) years system. Subsequent national educational conferences followed, including a significant one in 1990 that for the first time in Sudan's history, clearly defined the goals of Sudanese education since its independence on January 1, 1956. The latest was the National Education Conference in 2012, covering general education, higher education, and technical and vocational education.

For general education, the conference recommended reverting to separate subject curricula at the basic education stage and maintained the school year at 210 days. It also added an additional academic year to the educational ladder (8, 3) years, making it 12 years instead of 11. The Ministry of Education was given the option to place this year in either the basic or secondary education stage based on preference. After conducting numerous discussion sessions, workshops, and studies, the Ministry decided to add the year to the basic education stage, making it 9 years instead of 8. Additionally, the 2012 education conference recommended revising the goals of Sudanese education and the objectives of educational stages.

What is the extent of education spread and enrollment in educational institutions in Sudan compared to the population?

– The estimates for the number of students in general education stages (pre-university education), including Quranic schools and literacy classes, as well as students in both public and private higher education institutions, amounted to about 10 million students out of Sudan's total estimated population of 45 million in 2019. The estimates suggest that the population of Sudan reached around 48 million by the end of 2023.

What are the main issues facing the educational process in Sudan?

– The main educational issues in Sudan can be summarized as follows:

1. School Buildings: For instance, the Federal Ministry of Education's statistics for the academic year 2019/2020 for basic education schools (formerly) in Sudan showed that the highest percentage of available school buildings was in White Nile State (79%), followed by Kassala State (74%), and the lowest in North Darfur State (6%). For secondary education, the highest classroom availability was in Red Sea State (100%), followed by Kassala State (98%).
2. Textbooks: The National Center for Educational Research and Curriculum sets the specifications for printing school textbooks to ensure quality in terms of paper, coloring, cover, and printing quality. These specifications are provided to printers along with the original books to be adhered to precisely.
3. Seating: Several Sudanese states suffer from a shortage of seating for both students and teachers.
4. Public Education Spending and Financing: Economic factors are among the most influential on education, either positively or negatively, as they significantly affect educational budgets. The modern global concept of education is that it is an investment process, and educational planning now relies on economic indicators. The relationship between education and the economy is reciprocal; as the economy prospers, so does education, and vice versa.
5. Teacher Issues: Teachers are the most critical element in the educational process as they implement the curriculum in schools and play a fundamental role in nurturing and caring for students, monitoring their overall development intellectually, spiritually, physically, culturally, and socially. Therefore, it is essential to fully support all aspects related to teachers, from selection, preparation, appointment, training, and qualification to professional development, career progression, and social, financial, and psychological care. Teacher training is a top priority in educational planning because the teacher is the cornerstone of the educational process, and the success of this process primarily depends on the teacher's training and preparation in line with educational changes.

Given this reality, what are the main challenges facing education in Sudan?

– Based on the key educational issues mentioned above, the annual field visit results conducted by the National Center for Teacher Training and the National Center for Educational Research and Curriculum from 2000 to 2019, and reviewing the statistics and reports submitted to the General Directorate of Educational Planning at the Ministry of Education, and through the coordination educational conferences attended by ministers and directors of education from the states during the same period, the main challenges facing education in Sudan are:

1. Insufficient Funding for Education: Both from the central government and the states, which negatively impacts education, resulting in shortages in textbooks, teacher guides, seating, teacher recruitment and training, school building construction and maintenance, lack of laboratories, school activity tools, weak educational supervision, and limited educational technologies and aids.
2. Variation in Education Quality between States: Wealthier states enjoy better educational conditions, while poorer states suffer from deteriorating education quality.
3. Low Teacher Salaries and Benefits: Along with delayed salary payments.
4. Overcrowded Classrooms in Some States: Including Khartoum State, which negatively affects academic performance.
5. Long Rainy Season in Southern States: Such as South Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile (6 to 8 months), which disrupts the educational process, especially as some schools in these areas are built with unstable materials (hay).
6. Dropout Rates in Rural Schools: Due to students helping their families in farming and herding, early marriage among nomadic tribes, and a shortage of teachers in rural areas as teachers prefer to work in cities for family and financial reasons. Not to mention the insufficient teacher training at various levels.

How has the ongoing war in Sudan for more than a year and a half affected general and higher education?

– The deterioration of education in Sudan began with the leftist government led by former Prime Minister Dr. Abdalla Hamdok after the fall of the National Salvation Government in 2019. This was due to teachers and university professors frequently stopping work and the blocking of roads and disruption of transportation for extended periods, leading to a near-complete paralysis of the educational process, with three consecutive university freshman classes accumulating without studying after passing high school exams and being accepted into universities.

The significant decline in Sudanese education came with the onset of war initiated by the rebel militia led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, aided by foreign mercenaries, on April 15, 2023. This resulted in the destruction of several universities and schools (completely or partially) in some states, especially Khartoum and West Darfur. Most higher education institutions in some states were burned and destroyed, such as the damage to the University of Gezira buildings in Wad Madani. A large number of students were displaced along with their families due to the war, relocating to other areas within Sudan or seeking refuge in neighboring countries like Egypt, Libya, Chad, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.

Are there American strategies to intervene in education curricula in the Arab world, are there practical applications for these strategies, and what has been Sudan’s experience in dealing with them?

– We know that there are foreign (American, “Israeli”) attempts to intervene in some Arab and Islamic countries, one way or another, to alter educational curricula to become secular and atheistic, aiming to produce generations imbued with secular and atheistic ideas, distancing them from their religious beliefs, history, and Islamic cultures.

This happened in Sudan during the leftist and secularist rule from 2019 to 2022 when Dr. Omar al-Qaray was appointed Director of the National Center for Educational Research and Curriculum. He transferred several curriculum specialists from the center to the Ministry of Education in Khartoum State and formed committees from outside the center to prepare school books without meeting the school book specifications, removing the Quran subject and Quranic ayahs and prophetic hadiths from other school books.

These books were distributed to schools in the states, prompting students and their families to protest in many Sudanese cities, leading to some states burning these atheist books in front of the media. After the leftist government fell, Mahmoud Sir Al-Khatm Al-Houri, may Allah have mercy on him, was appointed Minister of Education. He issued a ministerial decision to cancel all these books prepared during Dr. Al-Qaray's term after the state lost substantial funds printing them. A large quantity of these books remains stored in the Ministry of Education warehouses in Khartoum, bearing witness to that dark period in Sudanese education history.

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The educational process in Yemen is experiencing a severe decline and continuous deterioration. Education has been significantly impacted, affecting its various aspects in unprecedented ways due to the ongoing war for more than nine years. The education sector in Yemen is one of the largest sectors affected by the war, with the situation becoming increasingly worse. According to relevant reports, the illiteracy rate has increased by about 70% in rural areas and 40% in cities.

According to UNICEF, more than 4.5 million children in Yemen are out of school due to the repercussions of years of armed conflict in the country. The fragmentation of the already nearly collapsed educational system has had a profound impact on the learning, cognitive, and emotional development, as well as the overall mental health of the 10.6 million children in the age of school.

The situation has worsened with the division in the management of the educational process, resulting in two Ministries of Education: one under the legitimate government and the other under the Houthi group. Thousands of teachers and tens of thousands of students have been displaced from Houthi-controlled areas to government-controlled areas, particularly in Ma'rib, which is overwhelmed with displaced people, thereby doubling the burden there.

Yemeni Prime Minister in the internationally recognized legitimate government, Ahmed bin Mubarak, previously stated that the education sector in Yemen has suffered severe damage, affecting its infrastructure and educational outputs, resulting in the worst educational crisis in Yemen’s history.

In his speech at a conference organized by the Qatar's Education Above All Foundation under the slogan “Education in Danger: The Human Cost of War,” he highlighted the severe violations faced by the educational sector and children in conflicts, attended by global leaders, senior UN officials, and representatives of civil society organizations worldwide.

Bin Mubarak indicated that more than 2,860 schools have been damaged by the war, becoming unable to accommodate students due to complete or partial destruction or their use as military barracks or weapon warehouses by the Houthi group. Some schools are even used as prisons and detention centers for those opposing the group’s policies.

Political and educational analyst Abdul Wase Al-Fatky believes that after eight years of war, Yemen’s educational scene appears fragmented, as if between two educational systems of different countries. He adds that the war has significantly affected the quality of education, leading to poor educational outcomes in both government-controlled areas and Houthi-controlled areas.

Al- Fatky continues, stating that today we face two different educational systems with different goals and orientations. This is evident in the Houthis’ insistence on establishing a new educational philosophy that aligns with their ideological orientations, striving to ensure that educational outputs serve their objectives and alter the identities of students and Yemeni society.

The Yemeni political analyst continues outlining many problems that have accompanied and continue to affect the educational process in Yemen since the war, such as turning many schools into prisons, using others for sectarian indoctrination, the lack of school textbooks, and the unprecedented spread of cheating.

Due to the ongoing war in Yemen, deteriorating economic conditions, and lack of income, the country has witnessed an unprecedented dropout rate among students at all levels. Tens of thousands have left their studies to earn a living, the same reason that has driven thousands of teachers and university professors, who have been without salaries since 2016, to leave teaching and seek alternative livelihoods. These financial circumstances have forced them into difficult and modest jobs that do not match their qualifications or academic degrees.

According to a human rights report by the “American Center for Justice” titled “The Forgotten Crime,” more than 170,000 teachers in Houthi-controlled areas suffer from unpaid salaries. The report documented the killing of 1,579 teachers, 2,624 injuries, 621 arrests, 36 enforced disappearances, and 142 cases of forced displacement since September 2014.

Just as Yemen's military and civil state institutions were devastated by the war, higher education was not spared. The war and its factions have destroyed what was built over many years through curriculum updates, changes in the educational process in universities, the exclusion of staff and specialists, the looting of university revenues and allocations, among other violations and abuses.

Due to repeated tampering and continuous corruption in public and private universities and the ongoing decline in educational quality, institutions like Sana’a University, Yemen’s foremost public university, along with other Yemeni universities, were removed from the Academic Ranking of World Universities in China. This led to the complete removal of Yemen from the list, indicating that education in Yemen is no longer recognized, or at least not included in the list of international education standards.

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In light of the Kuwaiti education experience between the four-term system and the two-semester system, I find myself inclined to believe that each system has advantages and disadvantages primarily concerning the student’s best interest. Yet, both systems have negative effects that impact the quality of education, student ethics, and true academic achievement.

In my opinion, the four-term system provides students with repeated opportunities to assess their academic performance, distributing study effort throughout the year, which can reduce the stress associated with final exams.

Through various experiences and observations, this system seems to reflect the actual level of a student's achievement, as it gives students room to make mistakes and learn from them each term. This encourages continuity in studying and discipline without excessive anxiety. However, I also understand that some students might feel that the frequent exams are overwhelming, sometimes leading them to consider shortcuts like cheating for quick success.

As for the two-semester system, I see a positive aspect in the allocation of more time for in-depth study of curricula, which can help foster a deeper understanding, especially in subjects that require depth and focus, such as mathematics and sciences. However, relying heavily on only two exams significantly increases the pressure on students, which might lead to more cheating to reduce the burden and achieve quick success. When success hinges solely on the performance in just two exams, some students may take shortcuts to ensure good results, which could weaken academic integrity.

On the other hand, the two-semester system creates an environment that contributes to what is known as "inflated grades," where leniency in grading or insufficient rigor in exam monitoring may lead to unrealistically high success rates. These grades give a false impression to parents and authorities, as they appear to reflect improvement in students' performance while, in reality, they do not align with the students' true abilities. This phenomenon, in my opinion, serves no one; rather, it ultimately erodes the community's trust in the education system as a whole.

I feel the ideal solution might be a hybrid system that combines the advantages of both systems by implementing continuous assessment through repeated intervals while reducing the number of tests counted towards final grades. This balance between continuous assessment and final achievement can help avoid inflated grades and encourage genuine effort from students without resorting to cheating. It would foster a healthy educational environment that accurately reflects students’ actual performance, benefiting everyone fairly.

I also believe that teachers and school administrations might prefer maintaining the two-semester system rather than returning to the four-term system, as it offers them greater convenience in planning and organization. In the two-semester system, the burden of assessments and preparing exams is less frequent and more organized, allowing teachers more time for deep instruction and lesson planning over an entire semester.

Moreover, this system helps reduce the administrative burdens associated with continuous grading and score entry, as evaluations are concentrated at the end of each semester. This gives administrations sufficient time for internal organization, such as subject distribution, organizing activities, and overseeing the smooth implementation of academic plans.

This preference for the two-semester system is especially convenient in light of teacher shortages or increased workload pressures in some schools. It contributes to making the academic and administrative schedules more organized and suitable for the available human resources.

Ultimately, I believe that decision-makers and education policymakers should consider the students’ best interests as the top priority when making decisions about the most appropriate education system. Choosing a system that balances academic quality and students' mental well-being enhances their ability to build a conscious and capable generation.

This goes beyond simply achieving high success rates; it involves preparing students to face future life challenges by strengthening critical thinking skills and responsibility. The best system is the one that produces the best students—students with genuine skills and high ethical standards, who are far from practices like cheating or reliance on inflated grades that mask real abilities.

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