Amr Salama: The Arab world spends only 1% of its national income on scientific research!
The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Universities, Dr. Amr Ezzat Salama, estimated the percentage of what the Arab world spends on scientific research at 1 percent of the total national income, while it reaches 4 percent in developed countries.
During his sponsorship of the Second Middle East Conference for Opinion Leaders in Education in London, Salama explained that the private sector in the Arab world contributes 3 percent to funding scientific research, while the private sector spends in developed countries ranging from 52 percent to 70 percent, and in some countries it reaches 80 percent. as Japan.
According to a press release issued by the Association of Arab Universities today, Salama said that studies indicate that the number of scientific researchers per million people in the Arab world is approximately 640 researchers, compared to 4,500 researchers per million people in developed countries.
The Secretary-General added during the conference that despite all the achievements made by Arab higher education on the quantitative level, the achievements on the qualitative level are still below the required level of ambition, and the reality still indicates a low level of its outputs, compared to the countries of the developed world.
Salama pointed out that higher education institutions in the Arab countries face many challenges at the present time, including the lack of human and material capabilities, the weak technical infrastructure, the lack of independence and the low level of spending on scientific research.
He said, “Based on the foregoing, the Association of Arab Universities prepared a ten-year plan (2019-2030) aimed at advancing the reality of Arab higher education institutions by achieving global standardization in higher education and its outputs, building the administrative capacities of universities, scientific and academic internationalization, enhancing quality and increasing partnerships between Arab universities and international universities. prestigious.”
He added that the plan also aims to support scientific research, knowledge production and innovation, expand the implementation of quality assurance and accreditation systems, regional and international recognition of certificates granted by Arab universities, provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills, align university governance and operational policies with the goals of sustainable development, and then facilitate dialogue between various sectors.
The three-day conference, attended by university presidents from different countries of the world, discussed the challenges facing the education sector in the post-Coronavirus era, which include ways to develop and exchange knowledge, education in the 21st century, the role of technology in education, and the role of universities in addressing the climate emergency and ensuring Achieving sustainable development for the United Nations.
The participants also discussed the role of universities in effective internationalization, the formation of global citizens, and the preparation of students to work in the Fourth Industrial Revolution to enable universities to better serve society in a real way and improve the world for this current and future generations.
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