Middle East: A U.S. export that could lift the Middle East: Education

News reports on U.S. engagement in the Middle East usually focus on issues of war, terrorism and injustice. There is, however, other news of our involvement in the region that rarely receives coverage.

American universities, including Cornell and Georgetown, are moving into the region and establishing campuses to educate young men and women in the Middle East. They come at the invitation of Arab leaders who recognize that higher education is the key to the future of the region.

Regional statistics describe the stark nature of the challenge. Since 2003, the United Nations' Human Development Reports have documented the knowledge gaps, gender inequalities and political challenges facing the Arab world. Sixty-five million adults in the region are illiterate; almost two-thirds of them are women. Education in many villages is virtually non-existent.

Modern digital reality is just a dream for most, with fewer than 18 computers for every 1,000 people, compared with about 400 per 1,000 in high-income nations.

Higher education can help the next generation of Arab leaders lay foundations of economic progress, entrepreneurship and civil society.

U.S. serves as model

The American universities in Egypt and Lebanon are almost identical in curriculum and teaching styles to private liberal arts institutions in the USA. Their emphasis on critical thinking and independent judgment encourages students to develop the intellectual capacity they need to thrive in a global economy. By contrast, in much of the Middle East, the national universities are overwhelmed with hundreds or even thousands of students in mass lectures stressing rote memorization.

Those of us involved in higher education in this region believe that as we teach young leaders to embrace rigorous analysis and intellectual tolerance, radicalism can be trumped. Conversely, if higher education fails to provide the abilities young Arabs need to succeed in modern society, hopes will be dimmed, and minds closed.

Skill-training will not be enough. Young people must develop the ability to analyze complex problems and understand and evaluate different points of view. Without debate of diametrically opposing views aired publicly, there can be no diffusing of tensions and no hope of mutual understanding.

A race to educate

If, as H.G. Wells wrote, human history is "a race between education and catastrophe," then it is up to the leaders and the people of the Middle East to ensure that education wins the race in their villages, cities and nations.

It is not just political leaders who must adapt. Lasting progress requires leaders of many different institutions who see the need for change. These visionaries include lawyers who understand the importance of fair and impartial legal systems, journalists who link the immediacy of new media to the values of reform-minded advocacy, teachers who return to village and urban schools to prepare the youngest generation, social entrepreneurs who create new institutions of civil society, and philanthropists willing to invest in social progress.

The American University in Cairo and similar secular, non-profit, American-accredited universities in Beirut and more recently in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, are important elements in Middle Eastern development.

At a time when some Americans seem to doubt the very existence of moderate young Arab leaders, I assure you they are out there. And while many of them are critical of U.S. policies in the region, their aspirations are similar to those of young adults everywhere: They want a secure and safe society, economic opportunities and honest and effective governing institutions.

With the tools provided by a top-quality education, more and more Arab graduates are working toward those goals.

By David Arnold, USA Today

David Arnold is president of American University in Cairo and a member of the Association of American International Colleges and Universities.