Under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO, and as part of its efforts to promote the sharing of educational expertise and experience among Arab countries, ALECSO hosted, on January 18-19, 2023, the first High-level Meeting of Heads of Supreme Education Councils in the Arab Countries.
The opening session was attended by Arab Education Ministers, Heads of Supreme Education Councils, as well as by Undersecretaries of Education Ministries, the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, Ambassadors of Arab countries accredited to Tunisia, and a number of experts, academics and specialists.
The meeting was designed to strengthen cooperation among Heads of Arab Supreme Education Councils, to promote cultural and knowledge exchange among Arab countries, as well as to identify priorities and develop the requisite strategies to improve education systems in Arab countries.
The meeting discussed various topics, including education reform as well as the current and future challenges to education in the Arab world. It was also an opportunity to showcase the relevant experiences of some participating Arab countries.
In his opening remarks, the Director-General of ALECSO noted that holding of this meeting fell in line with ALECSO’s founding documents which stress the Organization’s role in terms of promoting the sharing of expertise among Arab countries in the educational, cultural, and scientific fields. This, he added, would enhance inter-Arab integration, promote educational policy-making, and develop educational systems and practices in the Arab countries.
The Director-General stressed that the meeting served as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation among heads of Arab Supreme Education Councils, to encourage the sharing of vision, knowledge and expertise in terms of educational planning, to discuss common challenges, identify priorities, anticipate the future of education, and develop the needed strategies to upgrade national education systems.
H.E. Dr. Mohamed Salah Ben Aïssa, Deputy Secretary-General and President of the Arab League Center in Tunis, underlined, in his statement, the importance of the meeting in strengthening joint Arab action in the field of education,
For his part, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ali Boughdiri, Tunisian Minister of Education, underscored the importance of such meetings in advancing the field of education in the Arab countries and in pooling efforts and coordinating strategies to meet education-related challenges.
The meeting discussed a number of reference documents related to :
- Education reform in the Arab World : a Philosophical Vision;
- Education in the Arab World: Taking stock of current realities and challenges, and Looking ahead;
- The Arab participation in International Assessments PISA, PIRLS, and TIMSS : A step to improve education quality
- ALECSO’s efforts to promote digital transformation and capacity-building in Arab educational institutions.
The meeting adopted a number of recommendations whose implementation will be followed up in coordination between ALECSO and Arab Education Ministries and Supreme Educational Councils.
