Expectations and Aspirations : A New Framework for Education in the Middle East and North Africa

This report refers to four fundamental tensions holding back education in the MENA region: Credentials and skills, discipline and inquiry, control and autonomy, and tradition and modernity. If not addressed, MENA will continue to operate below its potential. Addressing these tensions and unleashing the potential of education requires a new framework with a three-pronged approach: A concerted push for learning that starts early for all children regardless of background, with qualified and motivated educators that leverages technology and uses modern approaches and monitors learning. It also requires a stronger pull for skills by all stakeholders in the labor market and society and involves coordinated multi-system reforms within and outside the education system. Finally, it requires a new pact for education at a national level with a unified vision, shared responsibilities and accountabilities.