With our world officially well into the digital era, the education sector also is trying to come up to age. Various e-learning modes and digital tools have paved the way for a new form of education. Most of the developed and a few developing countries have successfully implemented and revolutionised the world of education. Getting essay help or my assignment help has been a cakewalk for students, with several service providers ready all the time over the internet. However, considering we do not live in a utopian world, there have certainly been challenges and obstacles along the way.
The Muslim countries, especially the Arabian countries, have been reluctant to implement these new modes of education. We have discussed here the biggest barriers that are prohibiting the Arabian students from getting a taste of digital education –
- Lack of funding for education in Arab countries
Small Arab countries are yet on their way to becoming developed nations. Hence, they cannot solely rely on their own resources and finances to fund the education of the huge population of an Islamic country. According to UNESCO’s reports, these countries lack serious funds to channel into their education system.
Since the beginning, with a lesser focus on education, their funding strategy has been questionable. Hence, they are now lagging in developing enough resources to equip their schools with modern technology.
According to Global Partnership for Education, only 20% of the aid they receive goes into education. Hence, they can afford to spend only a mere $1.25 per child currently, which is frightening to think about.
- Lack of trained teachers
Arabian countries are currently running on a huge shortage of good teachers. With women empowerment still an issue in most Islamic countries, many major Arabic countries are struggling to create a talent pool to recruit teachers for their schools and colleges.
The teachers who have been in the industry for a long time are not trained enough to educate the next generation about digital mediums. Hence, the students are suffering to get adequate information about digital education.
- No Classrooms
Most Arab countries have constantly been plagued with wars, civil wars, and political conflicts. With the constant bombardment of mortars and shells, numerous schools and classrooms have perished as collateral damage. As a result, hundreds of students have been trying to learn basic education in the sweltering heat of the deserts.
With students not having a roof on their classrooms or a blackboard in front of them, thinking about adapting to digital modes already sound like a farfetched idea.
Students cannot learn in a hostile environment. With most schools being demolished, they are forced to squeeze into overcrowded classrooms with inadequate infrastructure.
- Exclusion of children with disabilities
In most countries of the Middle East and even in parts of Africa, the local rules still practice segregation. The children are segregated based on their gender, religion, financial condition, sexual orientation and disability.
If a child is born or becomes disabled, they pick those students and teach them separately in a different school for the disabled. Unfortunately, these disabled schools get little focus and funding. Hence, they always seem to fall behind the rest from the start.
With most of the administrative powers in the hands of the principals of the institutions, they can forge and manipulate the paperwork to continue doing their practice even if the parents or various NGO organisations protest against it.
- Gender discrimination
All over the Arabian countries, the womenfolk is still looked down. There are various policies and laws that prohibit girls from taking education. They are often forced to get married at a tender age, and they miss out on their schooling years. In certain countries, there is no minimum age for marriage, and they get married as early as 10 years old. It becomes a miracle if she manages to attend school after that; as per the Islamic laws, they are expected to stay at home and take care of their husband.
With their schooling ending at such a young age, they inevitably get denied of getting any digital education.
- Sexual orientation is still a taboo
Although the world has seen countless pride parades and with an entire month being dedicated to the LGBTQ community, the situation is rather grim in most Arab countries. According to reports, almost 57% of students who belong to the LGBTQ community from that country stated that they feel unsafe in schools.
That does not seem surprising because almost 30 Arabian countries and states have laws prohibiting them from openly expressing their sexual orientation. With already high moral policing a common norm in those parts, homosexuality is often treated as a criminal activity. This fear of getting caught limits their education life, and they remain deprived of all the modern education modes.
- Living in a country in conflict
As already mentioned, most Arabian countries always remain in political and religious conflicts with the western world. These diplomatic and political turbulences have already wrecked the home of approximately 250 million children. With so many war casualties and economic disruption, the education systems are on the brink of destruction.
This has forced almost 75 million students to look for an urgent need for educational support as they are now forced to drop out of school. With no places to stay and minimal ration to sustain, the students are now only dreaming of getting familiar with modern digital education.
- The expense of education
Although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has made it clear that education is a basic right of every child, many developing Arab nations are yet to make their education free. With people struggling in their plight to arrange food and shelter, the expense of education is getting a burden for most families.
So, poverty and hunger have been a barrier to countless students, and they default on school fees for months before dropping out. They get forced to stay at home and help their families earn money or do chores instead of availing digital education.
Summing Up:
Education should be made mandatory for everyone irrespective of the country, caste, religion, and gender. Education makes us understand the difference between right and wrong and helps us shape our lives. Digital modes of education are just the next step in that process. Unfortunately, with so many students missing out on this education, the world is losing so many potential scientists, entrepreneurs, engineers, doctors, etc. Hence, we can only hope that this situation gradually changes, and the Arab countries will become better places for the students.
Author Bio:
Jamil Mustafa worked as a professor of social sciences in a reputed college for five years. He has recently joined Essayassignmenthelp.com.au as an assignment writer.
