The Week in Review / Educational Policy Institute

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From Hydrocarbons to Higher Learning: The Arabian Peninsula’s Education Boom

April 11, 2008

Alex Usher, Vice President, Educational Policy Institute

It’s not exactly a secret that there’s a lot of money floating around the Middle East. What’s not as well known is how much of the region’s oil and gas profits are being ploughed back into higher education. EPI President Scott Swail and I have had the pleasure of spending the last week and a half in the area looking at – among other things – just this issue.

To western eyes, the amounts of money being dropped are staggering. The King Faisal Foundation in Riyadh is dropping a cool $300 million to create the Al-Faisal University, the country’s first co-educational institution, and one which is meant to replicate the rigorous curriculum of the top American undergraduate schools. King Abdullah has spent $10 billion (9 zeros, ladies and gentlemen) of his own money to endow the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). The Emir of Qatar has built a staggeringly large “Education City”, along with an associated Science and Technology Park, to start a culture of research and science in the tiny Gulf country, with Newfoundland’s College of the North Atlantic taking on the job of running one of the region’s first technology-focussed community college, the CNA-Q. The Emir has set the budget for the project at “whatever it takes” – and he means it. Similarly-named educational “cities” are also opening in nearby Dubai and Abu Dhabi. READ MORE...

Lacking the Basics

Worldwide, 774 million adults lack basic literacy skills, as measured by conventional methods. Some 64% are women, a share virtually unchanged since the early 1990s. The adult literacy rate in developing countries increased from 68% to 77% between the periods 1985–1994 and 1995–2004.

Source: Education for All Global Monitoring Report, 2008





	Special ed costs taxing town budgets Kathy McCabe, Boston Globe Special-education costs are due to rise by $1 million or more in some local school districts next year, further straining budgets at a time when many face a gloomy financial outlook. Virtual schooling takes hold in state Greenville Online Virtual education -- a public education program allowing students to take classes at home -- could be another solid alternative to traditional public schools, offering greater educational opportunity for South Carolina's young people. The recently approved South Carolina Virtual Charter School allows students to progress at their own pace.	‘US News’ adds survey that could alter methodology Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed The magazine has sent out surveys to 1,600 high school counseling offices asking them to evaluate colleges, and the results may be used in next year’s rankings. Or not. U.S. News isn’t deciding how to use the high school data until after the results come in. State Board of Education cuts $25 million from budget Stephanie Banchero, Chicago Tribune A month after doling out $14 million for pork projects handpicked by lawmakers, the Illinois State Board of Education slashed $25 million from its budget this week, including $5 million for gifted education programs and nearly $700,000 that would have gone directly to targeted Chicago schools.


	More colleges make consumer information public Mary Beth Marklein, USA Today As tuitions climb and calls for accountability in higher education grow louder, more colleges are making more consumer-oriented data available to the public. House panel OKs higher limits for student loans Boston Globe Students may increase their borrowing for college by $2,000 a year and private lenders could sell the debt to the government for a profit under legislation approved by a House panel Wednesday (040908). The measure, passed by the House Education and Labor Committee on a voice vote, is intended to ensure that turmoil in the credit markets doesn't prevent students from financing their educations, sponsors said.	Higher learning’s higher competition Liz Bowie, Baltimore Sun In college admissions it is the year of unprecedented uncertainty. A bump in the population - a so-called baby boomlet - means that a record number of high school seniors are applying to college this year. Making matters worse, a handful of selective colleges dropped “early decision,” so thousands of students who would have been committed to attend a college by December instead joined the larger group applying for spring acceptance. And some counselors suspect that colleges began rejecting highly qualified students who the admissions officers believe are applying only because they need a backup “safety” school. National rankings judge colleges in part by the yield rate - the percentage of accepted applicants who ultimately enroll. So colleges worry about accepting too many students who decline to attend.


	Pioneer co-op among 115 new trust schools Polly Curtis, The Guardian (United Kingdom) On Wednesday (040908), the government announced 115 new trust schools, including the first co-operative trust school where pupils, parents and teachers will have a say in how it is run. Trust schools are paired with businesses or charities giving them powers to appoint staff, own their buildings and set their admissions policies. Unfriendly classrooms The Peninsula (Qatar) An estimated 20 percent of students in the schools under the Ministry of Education (MoE) are unable to get along with their teachers in the school. Nearly 19 percent of the students of Private Arabic schools and 16 percent of Independent School students face similar problem, an annual report released by the Evaluation Institute of Supreme Education Council (SEC) revealed.	Demolishing Zimbabwe’s education system teacher by teacher Los Angeles Times The first to go was the English teacher. Six months later, the commerce teacher followed. The next year, 2005, the trickle turned into an exodus. By 2007, the departures from Mufakose 3 High School were like bricks in a collapsing building: math, science, accounting and many other teachers, all leaving their careers behind to work as cleaners, shop assistants, laborers in other countries. Zimbabwe's education system, once the best in Africa, is being demolished teacher by teacher.


	Study: High school dropouts returning to school The Daily, Statistics Canada Fewer young women than men quit school without their high school diploma. And female dropouts are also more likely than men to return to class to finish their high school education, according to a new study. The study, “High school dropouts returning to school,” based on data from the Labour Force Survey and the Youth in Transition Survey, found that a significant number of high school dropouts take advantage of the “second chance” system that offers them another opportunity to get their diploma. B.C. minister plays down budget cuts at colleges, universities Elizabeth Church, Globe and Mail B.C. Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell says he is confident the province's colleges and universities will manage recent funding changes without major program disruptions or layoffs.	When students sue Anne Mullens, University Affairs (Affaires universitaires) There is a growing tide of litigiousness on Canadian campuses. While some complaints may appear frivolous, universities never take them lightly. Lawyers representing universities and colleges across Canada note that whenever there is real substance to a student’s lawsuit they do their best to settle as quickly as possible, sometimes changing policies and procedures to ensure no similar case arises again. But here’s the rub: the more frivolous or vexatious a lawsuit, the more a university will refuse to settle and will battle it out in court.


	The fundamentals still apply Farrah Tomazin, The Age If you want better schools, work on the teaching. The State Government's education blueprint is as simple - and as difficult - as that. Yesterday, the Brumby Government set about trying to find the answers, announcing plans for a massive shake-up in child care, kindergarten and schools. Indigenous school policies fail young Helen Hughes, The Australian The Northern Territory Department of Education reported in 2006-07 that reading and numeracy Year 3, 5 and 7 benchmark passes for remote indigenous students averaged less than half those for non-indigenous students.	Truancy buoyed by failure to enrol children in school Rosemary Odgers, Courier Mail Hundreds of Queensland students are skipping classes undetected because they are not even enrolled at a school. As concerns grow about the escalating truancy epidemic in the state, it has been revealed that only one parent was prosecuted last year for failing to ensure their child attended school. Education review to ease skills shortage Sydney Morning Herald The federal government's review of higher education aims to increase productivity and ease the skills shortage, Employment Participation Minister Brendan O'Connor says.


	Education Tax Credits in North Carolina: Innovation in Education North Carolina Education Alliance (NCEA) As one of the oldest forms of school choice in the United States, education tax credits empower low- and middle-income parents to choose schools that best meet their children’s needs. Cost-effective, constitutional, and consistent with federal and state tax policy, tax credits enjoy bipartisan support among education reformers and parents; in fact, the number of states with education tax credits has tripled over the past 10 years. Tax credits create a vibrant education marketplace by making private schooling affordable for low- and middle-income families seeking a fresh start for their children. New education tax credits would help more North Carolina parents choose the best schools for their children, while potentially saving the state millions of dollars each year according to the report.


The Educational Policy Institute is an international non-profit think tank dedicated to the study of educational opportunity. The Week in Review is a weekly publication that highlights the top news stories, reports and statistics related to academic preparation and access and success in the US, Canada, and beyond. The publication also features a commentary written by either President Watson Scott Swail, EdD or Vice-President Alex Usher. To submit comments, news releases, or submissions, please email Dr. Watson Scott Swail at wswail@educationalpolicy.org or call (757) 430-2200.