This paper attempts to address and evaluate the UNESCO Model Curricula that was released during the first (WJEC) in Singapore in 2007 after a regional consultation meeting on the possibilities of adaptation of the model in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of the Arab region at the University of Bahrain. It is supposed to be a generic model that can be localised and adapted to match each country’s specific needs.
During the World Journalism Education Congress (WJEC) panel on UNESCO Curricula Model in Grahamstown in July 2010, it was impossible to ignore commenting on the impossibility of developing an Arab UNESCO curricula Model, because it simplifies a whole region into one bundle of ideas in a region that includes twenty-two countries stretching from Mauritania in the west to Oman in the east with the lowest average literacy rates in the world with (66 per cent). The situation is not even in these countries; for example in Mauritania, Morocco, and Yemen it is even lower (50 per cent). But in Kuwait and the Palestinian Autonomous Territories the rate is over 90%. In addition, gender disparity is very high in this region, though women account for two-thirds; including Egypt, Morocco, and Yemen. And within this geographical area, there reside several populations with different ethnic or linguistic diversities (Saleh, 2010b).
This wonderful idea has a paradox in its own prospects for a number of reasons: firstly, the curricula were assessed in petrol countries that have a very limited population in ratio to the rest of the whole Arab region’s population. Second, the current financial situation of the Gulf States even during the recession period can never be compared to the other populated middle and low income countries like Egypt, Sudan, Morocco and Algeria and others with their long list of problems both socially, economically and politically. Third, many of the non-national universities in the Gulf States are taught and managed by foreigners who live in a ghetto even with all of their good intentions (Saleh, 2010a).
I think that it is a result of either the lack or limited understanding of the Arabic language with all of its dialects and much more sub-cultures. Lastly, in a region where nepotism and connection intersect, it is no way out to truly evaluate the impossibilities of implementing this model or at least use it as a reference because even the most prestigious universities in the region neither know about nor even heard about this wonderful initiative at the first place!
I am reluctant to what some of the Arab scholars or visiting foreigners mention in some of the UNESCO events because it ignores a key issue that is embedded in the Arab mind of the "otherness" as a true ‘false starts.’ Journalism in any country reflects its historical memory and current settings, and all the Arab pride that has experienced the introduction of journalism and its education in an imposed mechanism by colonial and semi colonial rule at the end of the 19th century. And many of the non-Arabs forget that the imperial powers transplanted their institutional models from France, Great Britain and later the United States to their new hosts in the region with their political traditions, cultural linguistic diversities, which lacked organic connections. (Saleh, 2010 a)
This skeptical approach to the model is resulting of its it is an opaque one simply because the majority of the public are impoverished, marginalized and overwhelmed with the historical memory of colonization on one hand, and the harsh living conditions on the other hand. Hence, they neither consider the model or even know about it, unless we refer to those (elite) of Arab nationals or foreigners who speak about the ‘fantasy world’ or those who are on the pay-roll of agencies and governments and are willing to say anything out of cosmetic PR-ization.
My concern here is not the UNESCO Curricula per se or its content, but rather the impossibility to localize in the current settings and its unsuitability to the environment that is full of different kinds and levels of limitations. As such, many of the Arab countries, especially the Gulf States experience two separate worlds of the national and the expatriates living in the countries, who have different rights and visions to the same lands.
We can cannot think of allowing and empowering the model within the current limited and almost non-existent parameters due to the vulnerable public sphere with all its sensible circles, fiscal squeeze and the many legislative and legal impediments that block any real chance to adopt it within the regional social unrest, political agitations and poor civil liberties that are still plaguing. Besides, the public opinion has very low esteem of journalism as a profession and its education as a refuge for the low caliber students who find no other thing to do so they chose this field.
Many of the journalism educators and education advocates echoed four main criticisms have been expressed by. The first is the marginal endorsement of freedom of expression and the press, while also ignoring other basic human needs. The second is the superficial approach to democracy, which results in the marginalization of the interests of the majority to preserve the ruling minority’s interests (Saleh, 2006). The third problem is the governments’ subjugation to major regional issues such as the invasion of Iraq, Islamophobia and the “resentment and tyranny” motivated by hatred for the Arab-Israeli Conflict. And the fourth problem deals with the official simplistic analysis of multifaceted complexities of the current endemic problems in the region that varies from xenophobia to religious fundamentalism and social disintegration (Saleh, 2006).A situation that repeats what many of the international news agencies and broadcasters fall into of ‘Parachute journalism’ into ‘Parachute education,’ where a number of foreigners just come for couple of months, or years into a country with all of their predispositions and claim to the world that they are experts in the Arab region. The argument here has never presumed the reality in these countries is perfect, but only a perplexity of an opaque vision that does not clearly understand the contextualization in the best scenarios, while completely rejecting the notion of conspiracy theory. Another pertinent issue in that regard is the clash of interest between locals involved in assessing its suitability to the region for political or economical reasons.
In such a context, journalism education and literacy come at the end of the priority list; because media are used as a platform for fabricated reality, for rationalizing the government’s own iron hand. To reinforce their politicizing solidarity, Arab governments in almost all cases have never allowed journalism to investigate and evaluate critically national domestic policies, or those of friendly governments. Besides, journalism education nearly never delve into national or local issues, even in the cases of Pan-Arab satellite channels such as Al-Jezzera and Al-Arabya channels because these are the issues that most threaten their governments’ authority and legitimacy.
In such a context, journalism education and literacy come at the end of the priority list; because media are used as a platform for fabricated reality, for rationalizing the government’s own iron hand. To reinforce their politicizing solidarity, Arab governments in almost all cases have never allowed journalism to investigate and evaluate critically national domestic policies, or those of friendly governments. Besides, journalism education nearly never delve into national or local issues, even in the cases of Pan-Arab satellite channels such as Al-Jezzera and Al-Arabya channels because these are the issues that most threaten their governments’ authority and legitimacy.
In the mean time, there is a disconnection between journalism education, and governance that could have offered a valid local model, by linking the public agenda with all its aspirations, and disparities of grassroots in the troubled societies with the state, however the idea of having one unified goal for journalism education was never realized due to the absence of a real independent free media and difficulties in securing an appropriate political culture context that could be a refuge for elevating conversations that could address the current challenges of journalism education and provide practical solutions.
At the end, the research proposes a medium term plan that includes two recommendations: first, establishing experimental educational centers that could be used as pilot studies for how o localize or domesticate the UNESCO curricula and learn from its outcomes. Second, more emphasis on vocational training that can provide on job training for the educators to give way a new set of institutions that grapple with this reality in the market terms.
There is an urgent need for reevaluating the whole status quo in the region, and certainly address the diversity of each country before implementing any curricula. In addition, there should be attention to orient and train the educators themselves so that they could help the students. And here the aspect of motivation for educators by work incentives and for the students by maintaining an educational structure that advocates critical thinking and individualism in fact finding and reporting. A cornerstone in this conclusion is to link whatever learning objectives in the curricula to its learning outcomes, which will reinforce the bridging between education in different department and schools of journalism to what the market wants and needs. This kind of employment opportunities could certainly instigate education and training.
References
Saleh, I. (2010a)"Walking on Eggshells: Journalism Education in the Middle East," Brazilian Journalism Review, edited by SBPJor, "Journalism research in a changing world," Brasília, Brazil.
Saleh, I. (2010b) "Journalism Education in Egypt: Politically Hazed and Socially Confused, " in Journalism Education in Countries with Limited Media Freedom, EDITED BY Beate Josephi, Peter Lang Publishing, Inc, NY: USA.
Saleh, I. (2006). Prior to the eruption of the grapes of wrath in the Middle East: The necessity of communication instead of clashing. Cairo: Teeba Publications Press.