The Arab World -
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J. Ezzine, E Al-Sunni, and M. Ksouri
D
uring the last three decades, the Arab World’s educational system has witnessed major transformations. Motivated by economic growth as well as the eradication of illiteracy, the countries of the region embarked, each according to its means, on a bold educational experience. Universal education has been achieved in all countries of the region, and higher education has flourished in most of them. In order to respond to the increasing needs in skilled manpower, for their developing economies, engineering education has been strongly supported by the region’s planners. This article briefly reviews the salient points of education in the Arab region, with emphasis on engineering education, especially control education. Since reviewing the educational systems of 21 countries in a single article is quite difficult,if not impossible,whenever possible the article tries to present the similarities in a unified manner, sometimesat the expense of accuracy,and resorts to examples when differences are difficult to merge into a common picture.
Introduction Geographically, the Arab world covers an area comprising southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the whole of the Nile Valley almost to the equator in the heart of Africa. It extends from the Atlantic coast of Morocco to the mouth of the Persian Gulf, and from the interior of North Africa to the southern Mediterranean shore as far as the southern border of Turkey. The total land area is 11,188,892 square kilometers, almost one and one-half times as large as the area of the United States, or one-eleventh of the total area of the earth [ 11. The Arab world comprises 21 states: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Emirates, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yamen. According to 1991 estimates, the total population is about 220 million. More than half of this population is to be found in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Sudan. Culturally and nationally, the Arab World has shared, through a long historical process, a common language, Arabic, a common religion, Islam, and certain beliefs, practices, and ideologies. This common legacy has given the Arabs a common destiny and common aspirations. Nevertheless, the Arabs are at present, and irrespective of their common heritage, a number of states that differ in size, population, and natural potentialities. The Arab homeland was the birthplace of the great monotheistic religions and the cradle of many civilizations. Through the Dark Ages, Arab Islamic civilization acted as the beacon that Ezzine and Ksouri are with Dept. GE, ENII: BP 37, 1002 Tunis Belvedere, Tunisia, email jelel@ enit. rnrt.tm. Al-Sunni is with Systems Engineering Dept., KFUPM, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia, email
[email protected].
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would never extinguish, guiding the way for seekers of knowledge. The Arabs gave science a privileged position and, for the first time in history, linked knowledge with useful work. The concept of technology was introduced, thereby emphasizing the need for the mastery of science. An institutional structure was laid on the solid foundations of social awareness of the importance of science and technology for the progress, inviolability, and prosperity of a civilization, and the scientists’ commitment to the needs of their society. In all scientific activities, the Arabic language was used and developed on sound scientific grounds. Nowadays, most Arab countries follow, to some extent, foreign educational systems, such as the French or the Anglo/American educational systems. In brief, these systems include preschool education, basic and secondary education, and higher education. We begin below by reviewing the general basic, secondary, and higher educational system in the region. We introduce engineering education with a sample of academic institutions offering undergraduate and graduate programs. Control education is presented in the concluding section. A list of standard control courses, as well as some other related ones are given. Moreover, two tables of academic institutions offering control courses/programs are supplied. At the end of this section, two examples of academic institutions, offering graduate and undergraduate degrees in control, are presented. The main emphases of this part are degrees offered and degree requirements.
General Educational System Motivated by universal education, the Arab educational system witnessed spectacular achievements during the early 1960s. An increase of 60% in total enrollment of students at all levels in all Arab countries was achieved during this period [ 2 ] .With the expansion of education at all levels, financial allocations for education in the region have also increased substantially. Although the general trend has been toward a substantial increase in these allocations in all Arab countries, the rate o f increase differed widely among them. The prevailing system of general secondary education is made up of a basic level composed of nine grades, subdivided in first, second, and third cycles of three grades each. During the two first cycles, the students pass to the successive years on the basis of their performance throughout each year. Similarly, promotion to the third cycle of basic education (seventh grade) is dependent upon performance in the sixth year; usually there is no national examination. The third cycle of basic education consists of three years of education. In most of the countries, after the successful completion of the third secondary year, students sit for a national exam. Successful candidates are offered the Certificateof General Secondary Education, and are eligible to apply to universities.
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Since the early 1970s, higher education gathered strength and
Most universities have semester systems, and follow, to some extent, either the American or the French system. This is noticeable primarily in their adoption of a credit-hour, or a predetermined yearly course system. As is well known, the former system comprises core as well as elective courses, but the latter consist of core courses only. A quite limited number of variations also exists, such as the adoption of the Russian educational model.
a noticeable expansion in universities and institutes took place, along with an increase in enrollment to the point of saturation both within the educational infrastructures, as well as the job market [ 3 ] .Nevertheless, this growth was limited to the undergraduate level, leaving only a limited number of institutions with graduate level programs. However, the situation changed drastically during the 1980s due to the increased need for a specialized workforce with higher education.
Engineering Education In the Arab world there are about 55 undergraduate, 18 masters, and 16 Ph.D. engineering programs. The following is a list of departments that may be found in these institutions: Aeronautical Engineering (AERE), Architectural Engineering (ARCE), Architectural and Planning Engineering (ARPE), Biomedical Engineering (BIOE), Civil Engineering (CE), Chemical Engineering (CHE), Computer Engineering (COE), Construction Engineering (CONE), Computer and Systems Engineering (CSE), Electrical Engineering (EE) General and Technical Engineering (GTE), Industrial Engineering (IE), Mechanical Engineering (ME), Medical Engineering (MEDE), Metallurgical Engineering (METE), Mining Engineering (MINE), Nuclear Engineering (NUCE), Production and Design Engineering (PDE), Production and Design of Mechanical Systems Engineering (PDMS), Petroleum Engineering (PTRE), Systems Engineering (SE), Transportation Engineering (TRAE), Water Resources Engineering (WRE). Due to space limitation, as well as lack of information, only a sample of Arab academic institutions offering B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. or equivalent degrees in engineering is listed in Table 1.
Higher Education By the end of the 1980s,the number of universities in the Arab world rose to 90, most of which were established after 1960. These new institutions were established in order to introduce new specializations and fields of educations missing in the older institutions. Moreover, these new establishments provided mainly undergraduate programs. For instance, during the 198485 academic year, half of the universities offered graduate programs, with 33 of them offering doctoral programs [3].These universities are limited to a number of the Arab countries. Fourteen of these institutions offered master’s degrees, or similar degrees, and only nine offered Ph.D. degrees, or similar degrees[3]. The Arab universities offer degrees in three main areas: basic sciences, applied sciences, and social sciences and literature. Though the number of universities offering basic sciences, and social sciences and literature are comparable, it does drop in applied sciences, especially at the Ph.D. level. In addition to the latter difference, there are wide gaps between the specialties in a specific main area. As to the distribution of the number of students pursuing higher education in the Arab World, it is noted that Egyptian students make up 47% of the total number, followed by Algerians and Moroccans (12-14%), then Saudis and Iraqis (6-7%), Tunisians, Jordanians, Syrians, and Sudaneses (2.5-3.5%), while the percentage for the rest of the Arab countries is quite small and does not exceed 3.5% of the total student body [3]. It is important to note that these differences in numbers of students among the Arab countries is not due to the development of education only, but depends highly on the demography of the respective countries.
Control Engineering Education Control courses are found in many departments, such as CHE, CE, EE, and ME. However, the number of these courses varies from one to many. One or two introductory control courses are usually found in these engineering programs, and more advanced ones are set up in institutions offering graduate degrees or having a special control program or even department. Table 2 outlines such programs. The following is alist of standard systems and control courses taught at Arab academic institutions: Systems and Signals, Modeling and Simulation, Classical Control, Digital Control, Non-
Table 1. General Engineering Education University
Date of Establishment
Departments
Al-AzhX
1961
ARPE, CE, CSE, EE, ME, PTRE
Cairo University
1908
ARCE, AERE, BIOE, CE, CHE, EE, ME, METE, MINE, PDE, PDMS, PETR
Ain Shams 1950 Jordan University of Science and Technology 1986
ARCE, CE, EE, ME
~~
I
Jordan
1 Morocco
_
_
1957 _
1963
King Saud University
1957
Sudan
Khartoum University
1956
Tunisia
ENIT
1968
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ARCE, CE, CHE, EE, ME
~
of _ Mohammed _ University ~ _ V KFUPM Saudi Arabia
_
_
CE, _ EE, GTE, ME, MINE CE, CHE, COE, EE, ME, SE, PTRE ARCE, CE, CHE, CONE, EE, ME, NUE, PTRE, WRE, TRAE, WRE CE, EE, IE, ME
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Table 2. General Caintrol Education University
Date of Establishment
Country
Departments
Degrees
AL Baath University
1972
Syria
CHE, PETR
B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Bahrain University
1986
Bahrain
EE, ME
B.S.
Basrah University
1964
Iraq
CHE, EE, ME
B.S., M.S.
Damascus University
1958
Syria
EE, ME
B.S., M.S.
~
ENSET
1973
Tunisia
EE. ME, CE
B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
ENIT
1968
Tunisia
CE, EE, IE, ME
B.S.,M.S., Ph.D.
Halab University
1946
Syria
ME
B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Jordan University King Abdul Aziz University PDM KFUPM
B.S.,M.S.. Ph.D.
Kuwait University
1966
Kuwait
CHE, EE, ME
B.S., M.S.
Mosel University
1967
Iraq
EE, ME
B.S.,M.S.
Iraq
EE
B.S.
SalahudeenUniversity
linear Control, Modern Control, Optimal Control, Optimal Estimation, Identification and Adaptive Control, Digital Signal Processing (DSP), Instrumentation, Process Control, Power Systems Control. In addition to the above list, some courses from the following sample are taught at some departments: Robust Control, Large Scale Control Systems, 2-D DSP, Robotic, AI, Neural Networks, Industrial Automation, Nuclear Control Systems, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Control Systems. Control Programs Motivated by the need for control engineers in key industries such as petrochemical, many Arab institutions established special programs in control or even control departments. Table 3 summarizes such establishments. Though there is a need for control engineers, such as in countries with petrochemical industries, the industry in the region remains in its infancy, and thus, engineers as a whole seldom use their design skills, but rather make use of their technical know-how to run industrial units designed elsewhere [4]. Two Examples It is very difficult, if not impossible, to overview the specifics of control education in the Arab world. This is due to the diversity of programs and educational systems, especially at this specialized level. In order to shed some light on some important issues not discussed earlier, two examples are presented in the sequel. There are two major motivations behind the choice of the institutions: first, the educational models followed by these institutions, and second, the availability of information regarding these institutions. The Ecole Nationale d’Ing6nieurs de Tunis (ENIT) is the oldest engineering school in Tunisia and follows, to a great extent, the French engineering school system. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) is one of the most reputed engineering institutes in Saudi Arabia, and is modeled
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completely along the American educational system. Moreover, not only has control education always been part of engineering programs in both of these institutions, they offer undergraduate andor graduate degrees in control as well. KFUPM. KFUPM was established in 1963 as the Collcge of Petroleum and Minerals, and was changed to university status in 1975. The academic year is divided into two regular semesters of 15 weeks each, with an eight-week summer session. The letter grade and the grade-point average systems are used. A student has to finish a total of 140 (139 for some departments) credit hours to earn an undergraduate degree in engineering. The requirements are subdivided into four categories: general education, courses in the specific field of study, two to three elective courses, and a period of eight weeks, for the summer training option, or 28 weeks, for the cooperative program option. Students enrolled in the summer training option have to take a senior project which draws upon various components of the undergraduate program. Classical control courses are taught in the following departments: CHE, EE, ME, and SE. Advanced control courses are offered mainly in the EE and the SE departments. Moreover, the SE department has a special program in systems and control. The control engineers graduating from the SE department generally join the oil refineries, the chemical and desalination, the petrochemical, or the power generation and distribution industries. Few pursue graduate education. The SE department offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in control. Students with a GPA of more than 2.5 (on a scale of 4.0) may join the M.S. program. The requirements for the M.S. are 24 credit-hours of course work, and six credit-hours of thesis work. A research proposal is also required. The proposal is evaluated by the thesis committee. The student is awarded the M.S. degree upon completion of the research work and successful thesis
defense. At the Ph.D. level, students are required to have a minimum GPA of 3.2. The students have to complete 21 credit-hours in
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I
I
DepartmentsRrograms
Table 3. Control Programs/Departments University
Country
Degrees
Automatic Control Engineering
ENIG
Tunisia
B.S., M.S.
Automatic Control Engineering
Al-Exandria University
Egypt
B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Automatic Control and Industrial Electronics
Halab University
Syria
B.S.
Computer and Control Engineering
Assiut University
B.S.,M.S.,Ph.D.
Control and Computer Engineering
A1 Mansoorah University
Egypt Egypt
Electrical and Control Engineering
Maritime Academy
Egypt
B.S.
University of Technology
Iraq
B.S., M.S.
Electrical and Control Engineering
B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
~~~
Electrical Engineering
King Saud University
Saudi Arabia
B.S.,M.S.,Ph.D.
Electrical Engineering
Basrah University
Iraq
B.S., M.S.
Ecole Polytechnic
Tunisia
B.S.
KFWM
Saudi Arabia
B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Systems Engineering
1 ENIG: Ecole Nationale d’IngCnieurs de Gabes their area of specialization, and nine credit-hours in their minor. An entrance exam is administered to Ph.D. students during their first or second semester. After completion of the course work, the student takes the comprehensive exam. Upon passing the latter exam, the student submits a proposal for a research topic which is evaluated by the student’s Ph.D. committee. Finally, the student is awarded his degree upon successful defense. There are eight control faculty members in the SE department, six in the EE department, four in the ME department, and two in the CHE department. In addition to teaching and research, they also carry an administrative load. Control research activities at KFUPM are not organized in research groups. However, a wide range of control research topics are pursued at KFUPM. Faculty research activities are mainly supported through KFUPM grants, or KACST which is the NSF counterpart in Saudi Arabia.
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KFWM Research Institute is the usual research and development channel through which the university interacts with industry. ENIT. In 1968, ENIT, the first engineering school in Tunisia, was established. The main mission of ENIT was to fill the void and respond to the pressing needs for skilled technical manpower. It offers five-year engineering degrees in CE, EE, IE, and ME. Moreover, it offers two graduate degrees equivalent to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees found in the United States. The academic year is organized into two semesters of 17 weeks each, with summer training of one month. Teaching closely follows the French engineering schools’ system, where each course requires one midterm and one comprehensive exam per semester. Moreover, students’ evaluation is based on course projects and undergraduate thesis work. After each academic
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year, each student spends one month of training in industry. The final semester is reserved for solving an engineering problem proposed by the industry. This phase culminates in the defense of an undergraduate thesis. The training, as well as the undergraduate thesis, introduce the student to his or her future industrial environment and its constraints, and challenges. The M.S. studies are regulated by the M.S. degree commission. This commission grants acceptance to candidates, approves research topics, and proposes the examining committee. The M.S. studies require four semesters, two for courses and two for the preparation of the thesis. Moreover, the candidate is required to assume some teaching load. Normally, the duration of doctoral studies is three years. An M.S. degree or an equivalent is required in order to apply to the doctoral program. The research topic has to be accepted by the Ph.D. commission. The thesis supervisor submits an annual progress report to the Ph.D. commission. The defense of the thesis takes place upon agreement of the Ph.D. commission after receipt of final favorable reports from the advisor and two designated referees. The thesis examining committee is comprised of four to five members of professorial and/or associate professorial ranks in the thesis research area. At least two of these members are of professorial rank. The president of the committee is chosen among the five members, excluding the thesis supervisor. It is important to note that only a selected number of academic institutions in Tunisia are authorized to confer graduate degrees. These institutions are habilitated by the Ministry of Education and Sciences.
There are two main control research labs at ENIT. The first is the Laboratoire de Recherche en Automatique (LARA), and the second is the Laboratoire d’Analyse et Commande des Systemes (LACS). Robust Control, Adaptive Control, Variable Structure Control, Robotics, Fuzzy Control, and Neural Networks, are among the research topics of these two labs. Other control-related research work is conducted, for instance, at the Laboratoire des Systemes de Telecommunications (LS Telecoms), and the Laboratoire des Systemes Electriques (LSE). These labs are usually run by one or two professors, a few associate and assistant professors, and about 15 to 20 students working on their Ph.D. and M.S. degrees. The funding for these labs is provided by grants from industry or governmental institutions. To keep track of the latest innovations in control, four- or five-day fall and spring schools, are organized in collaboration with ASET, which is the IEEE counterpart in Tunisia. Wellknown researchers, especially Europeans, are invited to participate with their Tunisian colleagues in these meetings.
References [l] M.K. Harby, Technical Education in the Arab States, UNESCO, 1965. [2] M.A. El-Ghannam, Education in the Arab Region Viewedfrom the 1970 Marrekesh Conference,UNESCO, 1976.
[ 3 ] M. Haddad, Fourth Con$ of Ministers of High Education and Scientific Research in the Arab World. Arab Center of High Education Research, Damascus, 1989.
[4] M. Jamshidi, M.M. Zavarei, and I. Vakilzadeh, “Problems of Automatic Control Education in Developing Countries,” Automatica, vol. 15,1979, pp. 105-112.
Chile Aldo Cipriano and Gu hile is a long (4,270 km) and narrow country (180 km average width) extending from the southern tip of South America northward along the Pacific Ocean. Its population is approximately 13.5 million, having a literacy rate of 95% (ages 15 and over). In 1993, about 16% o f the total population was enrolled in elementary education (eight years), 5% in the four-year secondary education, and 2% in higher education in universities or technical schools (to the traditional eight universities, many new higher education institutions have been added since 1980). The GNP increase in 1995 is estimated to be 8%. Foreign investment
C
Cipriano is with the Catholic University of Chile, Electrical Engineering Department, PO. Box 306, Santiago 22, Chile. Gonzalez is with the University of Chile, Electrical Engineering Department, PO. Box 412-3, Santiago, Chile.
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has been increasing and reached $4.37 billion in 1995, of which 72% was in mining [ll. The first courses in automatic control were given in Chile in the ‘60s. These courses were offered by electrical engineering departments, and their content was limited to classical control of linear systemsusing transfer functions,root locus, and frequencyresponse methods. During these years, the typical automatic control curriculum consisted of one or two one-semestercourses and a laboratory, sometimes using simulation in analog computers. At the end of the OS, an important impulse to automatic control education was received from several sources. On the one hand, academics returned after completing doctoral studies, mainly in the United States. Additionally, by that time the Electrical Engineering Department of the University of Chile was declared a Center of Excellence in Latin America in the area
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