http://www.smh.com.au/world/after-the-uprising-a-revolution-in-education-begins-20111125-1nz7p.html Fairfax Digital a.. After the uprising, a revolution in education begins November 26, 2011 Changing gears ... students in Libya are hopeful education in the country will shift from the indoctrination enforced by the former Gaddafi regime. Photo: Alice Fordham
TRIPOLI: On the first day of lectures since July, Tripoli University appeared a much-changed place last week. ''Free Libya'' murals adorned the walls, the revolutionary flag fluttered from buildings, and young women outnumbered men in the corridors. ''A lot of guys died at the front,'' said Arwa Muntasser, an 18-year-old medical student in a bright hijab and Free Libya jewellery. ''A lot of my classmates were killed in the revolution.'' Their absence is the bitter price paid for the sense of anticipation tangible among teachers and students, a nervous hope that the new era will sweep away a culture of indoctrination and corruption fostered in schools and universities by Muammar Gaddafi. Advertisement: Story continues below ''We have 120,000 students and about 5000 teaching staff, in a country of 6 million,'' said Tripoli University's new head, Faisal Krekshi. ''This will tell you how vital this structure is. This place could be the nucleus of a rebuilt country.'' Libya has begun the process of rebuilding its institutions, which many believe Gaddafi - who was killed last month in a bloody uprising backed by the US, Britain and France - deliberately crippled to eliminate threats. ''Gaddafi had this system so that the end result would be that people would be ignorant, so they would not be educated, so they would not be against him,'' said Khadija bin Musa, who teaches computer engineering at Tripoli University. Under Gaddafi, she was forced to use what she considered old-fashioned teaching methods. ''The students just memorise. There is no analysis or understanding,'' she said, adding that Gaddafi ''didn't want people to think … to be creative''. After Gaddafi came to power in a military coup in 1969, he built universities and schools and encouraged modern teaching methods and curriculums. But as he cemented his dominance, publishing his Green Book of political theory and building a cult of personality, he changed the education goals drastically. By the 1980s, the study of English and French was forbidden, and science, mathematics and medicine were being taught with less emphasis on demonstration, teachers said. Often, they said, students were able to pass exams by writing patriotic slogans on the page or pulling strings with a relative close to the government. In schools, reading primers featured passages from Gaddafi's writings, while classes in Islamic studies paired his words with those of the prophet Muhammad. Study of the Green Book was compulsory for older students. Their disappearance underscores the questions facing education reformers now. What subjects should be kept, and what changed? Which teachers were too pro-Gaddafi to continue teaching, and which ones should be allowed to stay? The curriculum is the easy part, said Suleiman al-Khoja, an Education Ministry official. The Green Book is gone, except as a historical artefact, and Gaddafi-free versions of the reading and religious studies books are being produced. Maths and science will remain untouched for now. But the most pressing matter is the fate of those teachers deemed close to the old regime. Educators used to have to present credentials from one of Gaddafi's revolutionary committees to get a job, although many now say they hated the committee and lied to get the papers. Others, facing calls to leave, protest that they had to work within the system to do any good at all. Mr Khoja himself wrote parts of the curriculum under Gaddafi, describing it as a frustrating process in which the leader interfered frequently. Those who taught the Green Book have been suspended on full pay while their fate is decided. Some educators and ministry officials spoke of reconciliation and rehabilitation, but several suspended teachers said they feared violent repercussions if they told their stories. Many Libyans now rejoice in the freedom to be more openly devout and would welcome a more Islamic tinge to learning. ''In Gaddafi's time … I couldn't talk to the students about religion,'' said Fatima Tayyar, a schoolteacher. ''Now I am free … I want to teach religion, and the students want to learn it.'' Hassan al-Damluji, of the British charity Achievement for All said subject matter was less important than teaching methods in Libya. As long as children were encouraged to analyse, he said, they would build the skills to make up their own minds about the world around them. The Washington Post Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/after-the-uprising-a-revolution-in-education-begins-20111125-1nz7p.html#ixzz1eq8vdQCp [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
