Part III: Prospects

First: Follow up:

The huge mutations which have marked the end of this century as well as the undeniable relation which links the national economy to the international economic situation and the amazing information and communication revolution which threatens the cultural identity of developing countries through what we call global education, have left developing countries with no choice but to review their economic and educational systems in order to preserve their identity on one hand and assert their position on the international scene on another.

At the dawn of the 3^rd millenium in which the individual must rely on himself in more than one educational and economic aspect alike distant learning, self education and self employment, the review has to take into account the various local and international changes brought by the globalization of the economy imposed by the strong upon the weak, and of the globalization of education and telecommunication as well as other political and demographical elements. The quantitative approach of spreading education and knowledge, although very important, is no more sufficient to evaluate the educational system. An accurate evaluation requires an assessment of the objectives, efficiency and curricula of the educational system by comparing inputs to outputs. It is also impossible to evaluate an educational system without comparing it to others by evaluating its capacity to compete on an international level.

Although the Jamahirya has achieved high rates in spreading basic education, which reached 99.3% in 1999 and has also succeeded in increasing the rate of females in this education stage, as shown in table 8, it wasn’t possible to evaluate the efficiency of the educational skills due to the unconditional success system in the 3 first grades of basic education and to the fact that the results of the exams in the 4^th grade were taken into consideration only as a criteria to evaluate the basic skills of the pupil who passed grade 4. The evaluation reflects also the endeavors of the Jamahirya to channel dropouts to technical education by creating the basic training phase in 1998 for one year for those who are 15years old and haven’t finished basic education.

It also shows the efforts displayed to diversify the opportunities of basic education by offering public, private, religions and audiovisual education and organizing literacy training sessions in private and public institutions. The statistics show that half the population is enrolled in the different educational levels. The evaluations points to the care given to adopt legislation which fit the educational developments pertaining childhood care, distant learning, and other developments which appeared in the 90s. This reflects the importance given by the authorities to developing the educational system in accordance with the world mutations.

This is concerning the quantitative level. Indicators 2,3,4,5,6,9,10,11,12,13,14,15, show that the intake rate in basic education and the pupil / teacher ratio as well as the repetition and survival rates are positive and underline the efficiency of the educational system. However, 22.5% of the population of the age group 15 and above do not master basic literacy skills and only 7.9% of children enrolled in preschool despite the importance of this education.

Classroom density evolves around 33 pupil / class but is higher in some high-density areas. Moreover, there are some lacks in teachers’ for certain majors and a surplus for others. this indicates an absence of coordination and balance between the needs of the society on one hand and the desire of pupils to join the science sections which they prefer on another.

The estimates pertaining to the numbers of new born babies and to new entrants to basic education in the years to come require a review of the strategies related to early childhood care and literacy training programs.

Table 18 shows the predictions for the population of 6 to 14 years old between the year 2000 to 2025.

1. Pertaining to early childhood care programs, the committee recommendations are as follows:

1. To expand the acceptance of preschool education in teacher schools and education faculties.
2. To develop existing preschools and establish new ones in remote rural areas and urban ones.
3. To develop the services provided by preschools in the various institutions taking care of children of working women.
4. To enhance the partnership between the population general office for education and vocational training and the office for information and culture concerning audiovisual programs for children.
5. To enhance the partnership between the general office for education and vocational training and the health and social security’s office pertaining to childhood and mother care.
6. To expand free childhood services alike vaccination, milk, and pre and post birth health care.
7. To encourage childhood care programs in the private sector: To simplify the formalities pertaining to issuing licenses for educational institutions, and to grant some tax exemptions and reductions on tapes, toys, and equipment for preschools and nurseries.
8. To grant subsidies for products and requirements related to mother and childhood care, or exempt them from taxes and grant the credits needed to import them special treatment especially concerning the exchange rate of foreign currencies.

1. Pertaining to basic education, the committees recommendations are as follows:

1. The tables in the evaluation for the year 2000 show that the intake rate in basic education is acceptable. The authorities can thus pay attention now to improving the efficiency and quality of education, this can be achieved by carrying out research and studies pertaining to all the facades of the educational process in order to evaluate the internal efficiency of the educational system.
2. In the light of the fast technological and scientific developments, and in accordance with the role which telecommunications play in supporting the educational process, it has become a must to introduce computer (informatics) in the educational and training curricula on all the academic levels.
3. In the light of the difficulties faced by the committee in gathering data for the 2000 evaluation report, the committee recommends to activate the role of evaluation offices inside the educational institutions and administrations affiliated to the population general office for education and vocational training and provide them with the adequate staff and resources to enable them to become documentation centers capable of performing their mission as such.
4. In the light of the information presented by the 2000 evaluation report, and the field visits to various schools and educational institutions, the committee recommends to carry out restoration and maintenance works on school buildings, classrooms, playgrounds and educational equipment.
5. The committee recommends to organize training sessions for teachers and trainers to enable them to follow the developments in their field especially in computers and education techniques.
6. In the light of the large area occupied by the Jamahirya and the fact that the Jamahirya welcomes all foreigners, the committee sees fit to conduct regular exams for children in schools and to encourage the parents to follow the vaccination rules for their children. It also suggests to establish dispensaries inside schools in remote areas.
7. Considering the importance of classroom density in raising the level of education among pupils, the committee sees fit to build new classrooms in high-density areas.
8. Considering the disparity between the numbers of teachers specialized in human and applied sciences, the committee sees fit to train the graduates of applied sciences on an educational level and expand their acceptance in the high teachers institutes. It also suggests to establish a high university educational institute dubbed "the academy of educational studies" which will provide educational training for university graduates.
9. The committee stresses the necessity to coordinate between human sciences and applied sections to avoid any surplus in certain fields.

1. pertaining to the eradication of illiteracy:

1. According to the statistics related to literacy training for 15 years old and above, the educational authorities have to review the literacy training programs either by organizing night lessons or by cooperating with private and public institutions to eradicate the illiteracy of their employees and workers in coordination with the population general office for education and vocational training.
2. The population general office for education and vocational training should cooperate with the general office for information and culture to launch anti-illiteracy campaigns and programs and reinforce the role of the institutions, federations and associations working in this field.
3. It is a must to grant financial and moral incentives for people enrolled in literacy training and provide all the required educational methods to guaranty the success of such programs.
4. It is also possible to link the issuing of work and business permits and driving licenses to the apposition of a literacy diploma in order to encourage literacy training programs.
5. It is essential to focus on eradicating vocational, cultural and alphabetical illiteracy and design programs serving the 3 purposes.
6. Due to the amazing technological and information revolution at the beginning of the 3^rd millenium, the committee sees fit to enhance literacy training and adult education programs by providing them with the latest technological and communicate methods alike distant learning which uses audiovisual material and new educational techniques which allow the individual to educate himself.

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