Towards Global Breakthroughs in Higher Education in the Muslim World
Content
KEYNOTE SPEECH
Towards Global Breakthroughs in Higher Education in the Muslim World: A Policy Direction
Prof. Dato’ Sri Dr. Zaleha Kamaruddin
Rector, International Islamic University Malaysia
4th OIC World Biz 2013 Higher Education Conference Date: 27th September 2013 Time: 10.20 – 11 am Venue: Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur
Towards Global Breakthroughs in Higher Education in the Muslim World: A Policy Direction
Prof. Dato’ Sri Dr. Zaleha Kamaruddin Rector, International Islamic University Malaysia
1.
Introduction and Definition of Terms
With a focus on the Muslim world in particular, this paper posits that academic excellence is necessary for global breakthroughs in higher education. Such endeavours require educational transformation of the Muslim Ummah, which at the moment, imitates the existing disciplines to develop its knowledge base. In order to engender such desired transformation, there is a need for firm foundations for different disciplines, practical goal-oriented vision as well as a clear strategy and efficient processes. It is pertinent to observe that educational transformation of the Muslim world is a sine qua non for global breakthrough in research and development.
It is common in the Muslim societies to hear of relics of the contribution of Muslims to the development of major disciplines such as geography, mathematics, astrology, medicine and sociology. Time has come for the Muslim world to move forward on a fast-pace trajectory that seeks to identify modern contributions of Muslims to the technological development of the modern world. Therefore, there is a need for a clear-cut policy direction for higher education in the Muslim world in order to trigger a number of breakthroughs where everyone would acknowledge that history has indeed repeated itself.
Most of the descriptive data used in this paper are taken from the various reports published by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Statistical Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), which is duly acknowledged.
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Before I proceed, it is important to define the key terms and contextualize their meanings within the ambit of this paper. It is undisputable that the central key term here is “Global
Breakthroughs”. Global breakthrough is the process of finding highly significant new solutions or inventions to world problems which are aimed at improving performance and the general well-being of the society. Such breakthroughs are achieved through consistent synergic efforts specifically directed at a global challenge. The current global challenges have placed the world in a situation where it fervently requires groundbreaking research to proffer new solutions.
Furthermore, higher education involves all forms of tertiary level education where students are groomed to be innovative, productive and independent in order to spearhead meaningful changes in the society. This naturally includes Universities, academies, institutions, colleges, vocational training centres, etc. In order to further the laudable objective of enhancing accessibility to higher education, different international human rights instruments have distinct provisions for this. For instance, Article 13 of the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1996 provides that "higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education". Considering the epistemological foundations of Islam, access to education at all levels is guaranteed but it is deplorable to observe that what is found in practice today may be different from such ideals.
Meanwhile, the Muslim world generally consists of all countries within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Muslim minorities in other countries. It is not only possible for Muslims in the OIC countries to come up with policy direction that would spur global
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breakthroughs in research and development, but minority Muslim communities in non-Muslim countries also have a role to play in this regard. Transforming their minority communities within the non-Muslim environments would further project the beauty of Islamic ideals in the eyes of their host communities.
Against the above backdrop, this paper is broadly presented in three substantive parts. The first part examines the current state of affairs in the higher education system of the OIC countries. This is necessary to evaluate the position of higher educational institutions of the OIC countries in the competitive world. The second part considers the imperativeness of educational transformation of the Muslim world considering the current socio-political and economic crises bedeviling the Ummah as a whole. This is followed by an explanation of some important issues relating to global breakthroughs in research and development and the need to conduct policyoriented research that would significantly impact the development of Muslim countries in general. The paper then proposes a policy direction that would act as a catalyst for the desired global breakthroughs in higher education in the Muslim world.
2.
Current State of Higher Education in the Muslim World As a preliminary exposition before discussing the need for educational transformation that will bring about global breakthroughs, it is pertinent to examine the current state of higher education in the Muslim world with special reference to three main aspects: first, literacy rate; second, knowledge and innovation; and third, University ranking. These key areas represent the core of human capital development which is central to the development of the society and the world at large. Without quality education and cutting-edge research at
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various levels of higher education, there cannot be breakthroughs in research and development.
2.1 Literacy Rate in the OIC Countries – A Comparison In the measurement of Human Assets Index (HAI) and the Human Development Index (HDI), one of the major indicators of development identified is adult literacy. Since the scope of this paper is higher education, we have focused on the adult literacy rate in OIC countries. Being an indicator for social development, the adult literacy rates in the OIC countries are still below the desired average. The world average of adult literacy rate is 80% while that of the OIC countries is 71%.1 Figure 1 below gives a clear picture of the adult literacy rates in the OIC countries in comparison with other developing countries, developed countries and the world as a whole.
1
Savaş Alpay (ed.), Education and Scientific Development in the OIC Member Countries 2012/2013, Ankara, Turkey: SESRIC-OIC, 2012, p. 6.
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Figure 1. Adult Literacy Rates in Comparison
Without a clear policy and well-reasoned strategies on education, that cannot be educational transformation. Even though one may concede to the argument that the word “literacy” is subjective and one may fall prey to value judgment, fundamental Islamic teachings encourage Muslims to learn the fundamentals as well as beneficial human disciplines and scientific knowledge.
2.2 Knowledge and Innovation Issues with the literacy rates lead to knowledge and innovation. In the modern economies, there is much emphasis on Knowledge Economy (KE). For countries to attain economic growth, sustainability, and competitiveness, they draw a lot of expertise from the higher education. Within this context, the capacity of innovation based on the outputs of higher educational institutions in the Muslim world requires some close scrutiny. The number of scientific publications and patent applications by researchers in the OIC countries reflects
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the level of productivity of such higher educational institutions and the extent of realization of the much desired transformation in such countries.
In addition, knowledge and innovation are two fundamental catalysts for global breakthroughs, particularly in the field of science and technology. Advances in innovation and scientific development are derived from patents and other intellectual property rights which are products of research and development. Therefore, “although not all inventions are patented, the number of patent applications may be considered as a proxy for the degree of innovative capability in a country.” The SESRIC Report sheds more light on the latest statistics from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): [T]he total number of patent applications around the world in 2010 is estimated at 1.98 million. With a total of 33,379 patents, OIC member countries accounted for nearly 1.7% of total patent applications worldwide. Meanwhile, 73.5% of global patents are filed by only 4 countries: USA (24.8% with 490,226 patents), China (19.8% with 391,177 patents), and Japan (17.4% with 344,598 patents), Republic of Korea (8.6% with 107,101 parents) and Germany (3.0% with 59,245 patents).2
Using the number of patent applications as a tool to measure the innovative capacity of the OIC countries, one may conclude that the performance of the higher education systems in these countries is not impressive. With the exceptions of countries like Iran, Malaysia and Indonesia who have the highest patent activity, it thus appears the OIC countries need educational transformation that will foster innovation and promote scientific development (See Table 1 below).
2
Ibid, p. 56.
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Table 1 - Total Number of Patent Applications by Office: Residents and Non-residents
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2.3 University Ranking Naturally, the innovative capacity of a University or any other higher institutions is one of the determining factors for its regional or global rating. Recently, the concept of ranking has increasingly gained both local and global prominence. Being one of the methods of
identifying and recognizing excellence in higher education, university ranking seeks to bring out the best out of world institutions of higher learning. World universities are being ranked by different organizations based on certain criteria that have been laid down to improve academic excellence and research output. Of late, Times, QS, Shanghai among others rankings have dominated the scene. In the QS University Rankings 2012, only 9 universities from the OIC Member States were rated among the top 400 world universities.3 However, in the QS University Rankings 2013, there is a slight improvement in the performance of universities in the OIC Member States. From only 9 universities in 2013, the number has risen to 11 universities in the top 400 world universities. Table 2 shows the 28 OIC Member States universities in the top 600 QS World University Rankings 2013.
Table 2 – Top 600 OIC Universities in QS World University Rankings 2013 Rank 167 216 250 253 269 299 303
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Overall Score 56.9 49.9 45.1 44.7 42.7 40.2 40.0
University Universiti Malaya King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals American University of Beirut King Saud University Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Al-Farabi Kazakh National University L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University
Location Malaysia Saudi Arabia Lebanon Saudi Arabia Malaysia Kazakhstan Kazakhstan
See the Speech of Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu Secretary General Of The Organization Of Islamic Cooperation At The Thirty-Ninth Session Of The Council Of Foreign Ministers Of OIC Member States, available at http://www.oicoci.org/oicv2/topic/?t_id=7419&ref=3031&lan=en&x_key=university%20ranking
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348 355 355 360 411-420 421-430 431-440 431-440 461-470 461-470 481-490 491-500 501-550 501-550 501-550 501-550 501-550 551-600 551-600 551-600 551-600
36.9 36.0 36.0 35.8
American University in Cairo Universiti Sains Malaysia Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) King Abdul Aziz University (KAU) Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) United Arab Emirates University Bilkent University Middle East Technical University Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) Bogazici University National University of Sciences and Technology Al-Imam Mohamed Ibn Saud Islamic University International Islamic University Malaysia Koc University Sabanci University Sultan Qaboos University Universitas Gadjah Mada Cairo University Istanbul Technical University Qatar University Umm Al-Qura University
University
Egypt Malaysia Malaysia Saudi Arabia Malaysia UAE Turkey Turkey Indonesia Turkey Pakistan Saudi Arabia Malaysia Turkey Turkey Oman Indonesia Egypt Turkey Qatar Saudi Arabia
2013 website:
Source: Author (Data mined from QS World http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings)
Rankings
The Muslim world has also mooted the idea of coming up with its own ranking. During the 3rd Conference of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research in 2006 held in Kuwait, the Islamic Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) proposed the idea of “Ranking the Universities of the Islamic World”. The proposal was given a prompt approval and this led to the setting up of a “core group” which was saddled with the responsibility of coming up with a blueprint on the procedures, criteria and mechanisms for the raking exercise. The members of the “core group” were the Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia, the Islamic Development Bank, Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), ISESCO, SESRIC, and the General Secretariat of OIC. Table 3 below shows the adopted criteria and indicators for the ranking of OIC universities. 10
Table 3 – The Adopted Criteria and Indicators for the Ranking of OIC Universities
Source: Adapted from the OIC Report. Report on adopted criteria, procedures and mechanisms for ranking of universities.4 It is believed the OIC Member States came up with the initiative as a result of the criticisms against the existing global ranking systems. Whatever be the case, education must be measurable
4
Cited in H. M. Doostar and S. A. Mirhosseini, “Revisiting the Core and Cover of Quality in Higher Education”, International Journal of Information Science and Management, vol. 7, No. 2, July / December 2009, p. 47.
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to determine its value; and the goal of higher education in the Muslim world must be measurable based on setting criteria.
3.
Educational Transformation of the Muslim World
There is a constant desire to improve the quality of education across the world to ensure that academic excellence is pursued to the maximum and industry-tailored graduates are produced by the higher educational institutions. This significant desire is not only limited to the Muslim world but it is considered an important objective of all leading higher educational institutions across the world. In fact, policymakers in most countries have continuously focused on educational transformation of their respective countries through different successive strategic plans and policies on education. For instance, Malaysia revealed its National Higher Education Strategic Plan Beyond 2020 recently with a view to turning the country to an academic hub by the year 2020.
Of late, there has been much discussion on educational transformation driven by technological advancement. While this is a welcome development in education, there is definitely more to the discourse. We are envisaging a higher education policy that would significantly transform the lives of the youth with which they can contribute positively to transform the society. Mala Singh has identified a number of converging trends in higher education transformation in the 21st century. These trends which are geared towards global breakthroughs are summarized thus:
1. the requirement of higher education to demonstrate efficiency, effectiveness and value for money through business re-engineering drives, integration into public finance management accounting systems, external quality assurance systems and
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other accountability frameworks designed to accommodate greater stakeholder scrutiny; 2. declining investments of public funds to subsidize student fees and service costs, and the requirement to ‘do more with less’ (e.g. massification of access at existing or reduced levels of funding). 3. the dominance of managerial and entrepreneurial approaches to and within higher education, resulting in the tendency to run higher education institutions like income generating businesses. 4. the privatisation of higher education in encouraged competition with public institutions or within public higher education itself (not only of service aspects like catering or cleaning but also specialised fields of study like business studies). 5. the increasing development of labour market responsive curriculum reforms intended to appeal to employers and students as ‘customers’ and ‘clients’, the shift of public and private funding from basic to applied research, increased emphasis on academic/industry links, and greater concern with issues of intellectual property rights and the prioritisation of research for product development and commercialisation.5
Naturally, educational transformation is a stepping stone towards global breakthroughs in higher education. While there have been a number of initiatives across the Muslim world to reposition higher education, one may argue that there has not been much breakthroughs. Rather than aiming at the Guinness World Records by producing the World’s Largest Envelope as produced by Aligarh Muslim University in India6, the Muslim world should undertake cutting-edge research that will positively impact people’s lives across geographical and linguistic borders.
5
Mala Singh, “Re-Inserting the ‘Public Good’ into Higher Education Transformation”, KAGISANO Higher Education Discussion Series, No. 1, Summer 2001, p. 10. 6 The World Record Academy has revealed the creation of the World’s Largest Envelope by a student from a leading Islamic University in India, Aligarh Muslim University. See “Largest envelope: Garima Angel breaks Guinness world record”, World Record Academy, January 9, 2013, http://www.worldrecordacademy.com/biggest/largest_envelope_Garima_Angel_breaks_Guinness_world_record_21 3185.html (Assessed 20 September 2013).
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In the traditional Islamic sciences, there are numerous evidences of the disciplines previous scholars have studied closely from the Islamic perspectives. Such disciplines include political science, economics, philosophy, sociology, psychology, history, literature and even applied sciences. These disciplines were not studied in isolation. Works of previous scholars such as Al-Khwärizmï, Ibn Sīnā, Ibn al-Haytham, al-Farghānī, and Al-Kindi provide a good basis for modern transformation of the higher education sector in Muslim countries. Though there has been too much lethargy on the part of the Muslim world with centuries of intellectual torpidity, there is still room for a paradigm shift that would spearhead the much desired turning point in higher education.
The above analyses have laid the foundation on the imperativeness of educational transformation in higher education in the Muslim world. As a natural corollary to such analyses, this section explores issues that would spur global breakthroughs specifically in research and development and some disturbing data on higher education in the Muslim world. Admittedly, current practices and trends in the higher education sector in Muslim countries are not encouraging considering the amount of human and capital resources available for educational transformation.
For an earth-shattering transformation of the Muslim world, three significant issues must be imbued into the higher education system in order to set forth the launching pad for global breakthroughs in research and innovation.
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3.1 Firm Foundations In transforming higher education, one may have to take a look at the underlying foundations of such process. From the very first revelation to Prophet Muhammad, Islam has encouraged the imperativeness of education in shaping the world.7 Such divinely inspired education imparted on the Prophet subsequently shaped the whole world and became a force to reckon with. According to The Global Religious Landscape, Muslims constitute 23% of the world population which makes Islam the second-largest religion in the world.8
Table 4 - World Muslim Population by Region9
As shown in Table 4, with an estimated 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, it is expected that such population advantage will be channeled through proactive endeavours to positively transform modern education system and contribute significantly to the advancement of science and technology.
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Qur’an 96:1-5 which were the first revealed verses provide: “Recite in the name of your Lord who created Created man from a clinging substance. Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous - Who taught by the pen Taught man that which he knew not.” 8 Pew Research Centre, “The Global Religious Landscape: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Major Religious Groups as of 2010”, December 2012, p. 21. 9 Ibid, p. 22.
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A careful study of the underlying building blocks of Islamic education, which in its unique manner, is inclusive of any form of education that brings benefit to humankind could bring about a renaissance in higher education in the Muslim world. This is where the Islamization of human disciplines comes into play. More recently, during the IIUM First World Congress on Islamicization, the word “Islamicization” was used to depict the inherent character of Islamic law and ethics in shaping human disciplines.
3.2 Practical Goal-Oriented Vision In constructing the foundational basis of modern educational system imbued with Islamic ethics, developmental needs, and beneficial potency of certain ideals embedded in the Qur’an and Sunnah, the stakeholders must have a practical goal-oriented vision. This should be cascaded from the top to bottom in the educational system of a country. It is disheartening to observe that many institutions in the Muslim world still adopt the rote learning method which discourages creativity and innovation, particularly in higher education. Academic theory must be combined with practical experience while incorporating practical aspects of business and industry into the curriculum. This can be achieved when the method of teaching is geared towards producing industry-oriented graduates in the higher institutions. Such an endeavour requires the constant intellectual stimulation by the teachers who are encouraged to provide an environment conducive to innovative education. This allows for the golden triad of education, innovation, and
technology. These endeavours require significant expenditures on research and development. Without funding, there cannot be innovative technological findings that would lead to global breakthroughs.
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According to the latest statistics on expenditures on research and development, it is revealed that over 76% of the total R&D expenditures across the world is spent by the developed countries, while the OIC countries account for only 2.1%.10 Figure 2 below shows the top 10 OIC Countries by Gross Domestic Expenditures on R&D by million USD.
Figure 2 - Top 10 OIC Countries by GERD (Million USD)
Saudi Arabia Nigeria Morocco Indonesia Egypt Tunisia Pakistan Malaysia Iran Turkey 0
504 646 765 809 998 1,064 2,066 2,091 6,434 9,582 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000
Source: SESRIC, UNESCO, UIS Data Centre
In its Ten-Year Programme of Action to Meet the Challenges Facing the Muslim Ummah in the 21st Century, OIC has encouraged its Member countries to scale up their research expenditures in order to promote innovation and scientific development. It specifically requests member
countries “to encourage research and development programmes, taking into account that the global percentage of this activity is 2% of the gross Domestic Development (GDP), and request
10
Savaş Alpay (ed.), Education and Scientific Development in the OIC Member Countries 2012/2013, Ankara, Turkey: SESRIC-OIC, 2012, p. 51.
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Member States to ensure that their individual contribution is not [less than] half of this percentage”.11 There is no doubt that innovation is driven by research and development, and without enough funds, such R&D efforts cannot be undertaken. Rather than being consumers of technological innovations, the vision of the higher education system in Muslim countries should be directed towards innovative technology that will positively transform the world.
3.3 Clear Strategy and Efficient Process While it is important to have firm foundations and practical goal-oriented vision in educational transformation, such endeavours must be driven by clear strategy and efficient process for maximum utilization of meager resources to produce groundbreaking research. In doing this, the Muslim world should come up with its own Key Performance Indicators and ensure they fulfil the needs of both worlds. In addition, the strategy for improving the quality of teaching, learning and research should be clearly outlined. The higher education sector needs to streamline and improve its internal processes for maximum output. It must imbibe the quality culture expounded in the Qur’an and Sunnah and ensure it is part of its core identity. From the very declarations in the Qur’an, quality and moral excellence are part and parcel of the Islamic culture. For instance, the Muslim Ummah is described thus:
Qur’an: “You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah”.12
11
See OIC, Ten-Year Programme of Action to Meet the Challenges Facing the Muslim Ummah in the 21st Century, Third Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 7-8 December 2005, Part 2, Section V, Article 4. 12 Qur’an 3:110. In the Hadith, the Prophet has encouraged excellence in all things even while slaughtering animals for consumption purposes: “On the authority of Abu Y’alaa Shaddad ibn Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who said: “Verily, Allah has prescribed excellence in all things. Thus, if you kill, kill in a good manner. If you slaughter, slaughter in a good manner. Each of you should sharpen his blade and spare suffering to the animal he is slaughtering”. Related by Muslim.
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Hadith: “Verily, Allah loves that when anyone of you does a job he should perfect it".13
Such a quality entails a lot from the human and spiritual perspectives. Transposing such quality to academic excellence in higher education, Muslims are expected to be at the forefront in terms of efficient processes and clear strategies for educational transformation. The Islamic paradigm perfectly combines what Harvey & Stensaker14 describe as an intersection between quality definitions and the elitist and democratic concepts of culture as described in Table 5 below.
Table 5 - Intersection of quality definitions and elitist and democratic concepts of culture15 Culture Quality Elitist Democratic Excellence Creating an environment in Developing a set of shared, which the best prosper lived understandings of how to irrespective of others project, support and aspire to excellence Consistency Making sure that areas of high Everyone takes responsibility reputation perform for ensuring their own work consistently meets expectations and specifications Fitness for purpose Specifying an elitist purpose A common understanding of and ensuring everything purpose and how to achieve it. conforms to it Value for money Using reputational leverage to Developing an internalised set attract money from high of values that ensures profile resources and ensuring resources are used efficiently that it is spent effectively, or and effectively. at least to the satisfaction of donors Transformational Ensuring that top-graded A stakeholder-centred students are prepared approach that endeavours to (enhanced and empowered) enhance and empower for significant graduate jobs students and researchers:
13 14
Related by Al-Bayhaqi. Lee Harvey & Bjørn Stensaker, “Quality culture: Understandings, boundaries and linkages”, European Journal of Education, Special Issue: The Search for Quality in the European Higher Education Area, Vol. 43, No. 4, December 2008, pp. 427–442. 15 Ibid.
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and that top researchers are fully supported and enabled to attract and deliver major research projects
prioritising the development of participants in the learning and knowledge development process
Such quality culture is expected to gradually transform the higher education system in the OIC countries with a view to nurturing world-class universities. The role of these universities in the society and the economies of the countries where they exist must be emphasized. The UK
Jewels in the crown report identified the following seven major roles of world-class universities.16
1. Generating impacts through a large volume of excellent research. Aiming towards attaining the world-class university status requires large volume of quality researches that have significant impact on the society and economy. Standards must not be comprised in the drive towards producing excellent research that can stand any form of academic scrutiny from any part of the world. Mass productivity must be matched with academic excellence.
2. Solving global challenges through multidisciplinary research. Complex global issues require dedicated research outputs that will identify practical solutions. Some of the global issues such as global warming, domestic violence, and human rights violation, require multidisciplinary research. This has been the focus of most higher education systems within the OIC, including Malaysia, through the promotion of multidisciplinary
16
The seven major roles discussed here draw significantly from Jewels in the crown: The importance and characteristics of the UK’s world-class universities, Russell Group Papers, Issue 4, 2012, pp. 17-32.
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research to tackle serious global challenges. World-class universities should be able to forecast some global challenges which require some early warning mechanisms.
3. International leadership and global networks. Attracting talents who are sourced across the globe through international leadership and global networks is another major role of world-class universities. Such strategic partnership with like minds involves research collaborations and exchange programmes have the potential to improve the kind of benefits deliverable to the society and the world at large. Universities in the OIC region should form strategic partnerships and initiate active collaborations, not only with universities in fellow Member States, but also with leading universities across the world.
4. Formation of clusters of knowledge-intensive activity.
Clusters are necessary for
intensive research. Therefore, top researchers within the OIC countries should constitute clusters of knowledge-intensive activity for the purpose of addressing some global issues. Such endeavours may lead to global breakthroughs. An agglomeration of experts from both the academia and the industry into research-oriented clusters will go a long way in enhancing research output and innovation.
5. Attracting investment from business and international sources. Securing research grants from national and international bodies with a view to channeling the funds to productive research endeavours is another major role world-class universities play in the society. Higher institutions are major sources of investment which is channeled towards upgrade
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research infrastructure, educating more students, and coming up with cutting-edge research outputs.
6. Exploiting the findings of research and technological breakthroughs. This should be the major focus of world-class universities in their quest for global breakthroughs. Findings of research must be related to problems identified and must have practical implications on the society and the economy. Intellectual property should be commercialized promptly. Engaging in such cutting-edge research that will lead to patents has the potential of creating a source of income for the higher educational institutions in the OIC countries.
7. Producing highly skilled graduate and postgraduates. Improving the quality of teaching and research productivity will enhance the ranking of the university. And this has the tendency of attracting the best brains from across the world. Such young talents attracted from all over the world have the tendency of producing innovative research outputs that will benefit the society.
4.
Towards Global Breakthroughs: A Policy Direction At the intergovernmental level, the OIC has acknowledged the challenges facing education in the Muslim world with particular reference to the low standards of education and the spread of literacy. In its Ten-Year Programme of Action to Meet the Challenges Facing the Muslim Ummah in the 21st Century of 2005, it proposes the following Action Plan for higher
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education that will bring about educational transformation and global breakthroughs for immediate implementation in its Member countries:
V. Higher Education, Science and Technology 1. Effectively improve and reform educational institutions and curricula in all levels, link postgraduate studies to the comprehensive development plans of the Islamic World. At the same time, priority should be given to science and technology and facilitating academic interaction and exchange of knowledge among the academic institutions of Member States, and urge the Member States to strive for quality education that promotes creativity, innovation, and research and development 2. Assimilate highly-qualified Muslims within the Muslim World, develop a comprehensive strategy in order to utilize their expertise and prevent brain migration phenomenon. 3. Entrust the General Secretariat to study the creation of an OIC Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievements by Muslim scientists. 4. Call upon Islamic countries to encourage research and development programmes, taking into account that the global percentage of this activity is 2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and request Member States to ensure that their individual contribution is not inferior to half of this percentage. 5. Take advantage of the important results of the World Summit on Information Society, held in Tunis, in which all Muslim States actively participated with a view to close the digital gap between the developed and developing States and request the General Secretariat to follow up these results in order to build the capacities of Member States to adhere to the information society which, in turn, will sustain development in Muslim States. 6. Encourage public and private national research institutions to invest in technology capacity-building, in areas of advanced technologies, such as the acquisition of nuclear technology for peaceful uses. 7. Review the performance of the OIC-affiliated universities so as to improve their effectiveness and efficiency, and call for participation in the two Waqfs (Endowments) dedicated to the two universities in Niger and Uganda, and provide support to the International Islamic University in Malaysia. 8. Call upon the Member States to extend enhanced support to the Islamic University of Technology in Bangladesh in order to enable it to contribute more towards capacity building of the OIC Member States through human resources development.
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9. Urge the IDB to further enhance its programme of scholarships for outstanding students and Hi-Tech specializations aimed at developing the scientific, technical, and research capabilities of scientists and researchers in the Member States.17
Nearly ten years after the Action Plan was released, one is yet to experience significant changes in the higher education sector of most Muslim countries. With the exception of a few Universities, it appears the higher education sectors of most countries are experiencing an intellectual sloth. Recently a controversy broke out on Twitter regarding the comments of a controversial figure who disguises as an atheist; Richard Dawkins. His comments that sparked off the Twitter row go thus: “All the world’s Muslims have fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College, Cambridge.”18 He believes Muslim scientists were great in the distant past but retrogression has set in which contributes to the modern problems in the Muslim societies. Naturally, Muslims will react vehemently against such ill-natured comments because they are coming from a controversial figure who naturally does not recognize religion as a potent force in the scheme of things in life.
Why not take a different look at Dawkins’ comments. Rather than being reactionary all the time, which of course is natural, he might just be saying the bitter truth. So, instead of throwing the baby with the bath water, why not look inwards and identify the challenge with a view to finding a lasting solution. It is true the Noble Prize issue itself is more political than genuine achievements, but this belief may be more connected to the Nobel Peace Prize and Noble Prize
17
OIC, Ten-Year Programme of Action to Meet the Challenges Facing the Muslim Ummah in the 21st Century, Third Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 7-8 December 2005, Part 2, Section V. 18 John Stevens, “'Muslims peaked in the Dark Ages. But since then?': Richard Dawkins embroiled in Twitter row over controversial comments”, Mail Online, 9 August, 2013, at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article2387635/Richard-Dawkins-embroiled-Twitter-row-controversial-comments.html (Assessed on 23rd September 2013).
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for Literature. However, that of Sciences remain significant and it is always associated with a major global breakthrough in physics, chemistry, biology or any other aspect of sciences. The Table in Appendix I provides the list of Muslim Nobel Laureates from inception in 1901 to 2012. It shows there have been six Nobel Peace Laureates and two Nobel Prize Laureates for Literature. Under the science category, the whole Muslim Ummah has only got one each for both physics and chemistry. While the Peace and Literature categories may not be regarded as major breakthroughs because they are subject to political expediencies, one may reasonably conclude that the Muslim Ummah has had just two global breakthroughs in sciences and technology for over a century. These two scientists are Pakistani Scientist Abdu Salam19 and the Egyptian-American Ahmed Zewail.20
Moving forward, in order to ensure that quality research and academic excellence are directed towards breakthroughs that will positively impact the whole world by solving some emerging problems, policymakers should focus on this threefold proposal: Governance of higher education, Priority setting at the regional level, and Direction and funding of research.
19
Since Abdu Salam died as an Ahmadiyya, he is considered not to be a Muslim and as such has reduced the number of modern Muslim Nobel Laureates to just one. In 1974, the Pakistani Parliament made a constitutional amendment that declared Ahmadies as non-Muslims. So, when Abdu Salam died in 1996, his body was brought back to Pakistan and he was buried in Bahishti Maqbara which is a cemetery of the Ahmadiyya movement. Initially, the epitaph on his tomb read “First Muslim Nobel Laureate”, but on the orders of a local magistrate, the word “Muslim” was erased and the epitaph read “First Nobel Laureate”. The tombstone was later vandalized later but his name still appears there. Baseer Naweed; Stewart Sloan (22 November 2012). "PAKISTAN: Is Dr. Abdus Salam – a Nobel Laureate or persona non grata?". Asian Human Rights Commission. Retrieved 28 November 2012. 20 The OIC should introduce its Nobel Prize Awards for innovation and scientific development to encourage scientists to increase their innovative capacities. This will encourage more Muslim scientists to aim at global breakthroughs. The current IDB Prize for Science and Technology is a good example of this endeavour.
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4.1 Governance of Higher education Governance is of paramount importance in giving the strategic direction for higher education in the Muslim world. This involves both the macro and micro levels of governance within the higher education sector of a country. In essence, for us to have world-class universities in the Muslim world, favourable governance that will encourage research and innovation is needed. From the UK perspective, the critical success factors of a world-class university highlighted in the UK Jewels in the crown report, are:
– –
a high concentration or critical mass of talent, both faculty and students sufficient resources to provide an extensive, comprehensive learning environment and a rich environment for advanced research favourable governance allowing and encouraging autonomy, strategic vision, innovation, efficient resource management and flexibility.21
–
Both “critical mass of talent” and “sufficient resources” require favourable governance in defining the strategic direction of the higher education sector. The OIC member countries must leave their comfort zones and embrace change in a highly competitive world. This can only be achieved through academic excellence which involves groundbreaking research and innovation that has the potential of changing the world we live in for the better.
Aiming towards having a number of world-class universities among the OIC countries requires a paradigm shift where quality is emphasized in teaching and learning, research and consultancy. This is necessary because attaining the position of a world-class university is a prerequisite to
21
Jewels in the crown: The importance and characteristics of the UK’s world-class universities, Russell Group Papers, Issue 4, 2012, p. 3.
26
making global breakthroughs. For this purpose, we adopt the following definition of world-class university: [A]n institution that has a high concentration of excellence, talent and modern infrastructure, that is utilised with vision and creativity to deliver excellent learning and research in order to make a significant contribution to the world’s knowledge, health, wealth and well-being.22
The above definition anchors the role of a world-class university to significant breakthroughs that have the potential of positively impacting the world. Such universities maximally exploit the findings of research and technological breakthroughs to deliver benefits to the society and the economy of the countries within which they exist.
4.2 Priority setting at the regional level Just like the OIC Action Plan which significantly addresses higher education in the Muslim world, there is a need to set our priorities at the regional level for educational transformation that will bring about meaningful breakthroughs in all disciplines. We may need to reassess our priorities and reposition our roles within the national and ummatic aspirations. This involves policies that will address the changing educational landscape and quality requirements as discussed above. Such priorities must actively address three main questions: why is the quality of higher education in the Muslim world lagging behind despite its longstanding contributions in the past? Why are Universities unable to utilize the contribution of scientific research in economic development to initiate meaningful global breakthroughs? And how can the Universities identify high performing researchers who have the potential of going beyond the ordinary through groundbreaking researches that could be scaled up to achieve global
22
Ibid, p. 8.
27
breakthroughs? Addressing these practical issues is expected to prepare the higher education sectors in the Muslim countries for the much desired breakthroughs in research and development.
4.3 Direction and funding of research As indicated above, the OIC countries are still lagging behind in the aspect of direction and funding of research. Research funding is essential in generating impacts through excellent researches that are directed at specific challenges of the local and global communities. Global challenges can be tackled with interdisciplinary research where hi-tech innovation clusters from across the Muslim world are established and jointly funded to achieve an identified objective. However, one must not shy away from the fact that funding remains a major challenge in Muslim countries, particularly in their higher education sectors. Therefore, it is proposed that Universities should establish successful businesses in their own right to ensure financial sustainability, and encourage the alumni to give back to their Alma Mater. The Harvard’s Endowment Fund, which has been relatively successful, may be closely studied as a model to be adapted by the Universities in the Muslim world.
5.
Conclusion
It is now time for higher educational institutions to add a key factor to their strategic plans regarding global breakthroughs in research and innovation. While such endeavour should not just be mere declaration of intent in the policy document, there should be proper funding for top researchers who should be identified and encouraged to produce cutting-edge researches that have the potential of changing the conditions of the people for the better. Such productive
28
researchers should be identified from all disciplines and constituted in what may be referred to as a “Breakthrough Team” or “H-tech Team” which should be saddled with the responsibility of studying existing issues, problems, and challenges facing any sector in the world, and coming up with sustainable solutions that will make significant difference to the world. The hi-tech team must be motivated to produce earth-shattering research. While it is admitted that there are different breakthrough models that have the potential of bringing about transformative change in higher education, it is pertinent to emphasize that whatever model adopted by the higher institutions in the Muslim world, it must reflect three important stages: first, identify a select group of proven researchers from different fields and constitute a number of teams; second, invite accomplished scientists and innovators to motivate them and stimulate their creative acumen for transformative change; and third, invite each of the teams to come up with a major breakthrough in their respective fields. Such endeavours should reflect the unique Islamic ideals since they are required to also be the torchbearers of Islam while contributing positively to the world around us.
These are the true Khalifahs who are expected to be nurtured by the higher educational institutions in the Muslim world. Nurturing these Khalifahs in the proper way will bring about global breakthroughs in research and development and this will ensure our graduates uphold the principle of wasatiyyah without falling prey to either undue laxity or unwarranted extremism. One may conclude that this is the time where the fine blueprint of the OIC on higher education is transformed to practical realities for educational transformation that will bring about global breakthroughs before the end of this decade. The stakeholders in the higher education sector of
29
the Muslim countries now need to walk the talk and engineer meaningful changes in nurturing world-class higher educational institutions.
30
APPENDIX I LIST OF MUSLIM NOBEL LAUREATES (1901 – 2012)
CATEGORY: PEACE Year 1978 Bio and Profession Anwar Al-Sadat, born 25th December 1918 died 6th October 1981 Egyptian Policymaker Yasser Arafat (24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004) 1994 Palestinian Politician 2003 Shirin Ebadi (born 21 June 1947) Iranian Human Right Activist Mohamed El Baradei (born June 17, 1942 Egyptian Policymaker Muhammad Yunus (born 28 June 1940 Bangladeshi Economist and founder of Grameen Bank Tawakul Karman, (born 7 February 1979) Human rights activist based in Yemen. A prominent leader in the Arab Spring. The 2003 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Ebadi “for her efforts for democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children The 2005 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to El Baradei and IAEA “for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to Yunus and Grameen Bank “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below” The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly given to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Karman “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work”.[ Rationale He, along with Menachem Begin was awarded 1978 Nobel Peace Prize “for their contribution to the two frame agreements on peace in the Middle East, and on peace between Egypt and Israel, which were signed at Camp David on September 17, 1978” The 1994 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin “for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East” Comment The first Muslim to receive the Nobel Prize
Called by some "the first Palestinian to receive a Nobel Prize" though his father was of Egyptian bloodlines and that Arafat was actually born in Cairo, not Palestine The first and only Iranian to receive a Nobel Prize. She was also the first Muslim woman to receive such an honor He was the second Egyptian to be awarded Nobel Peace Prize (2005)
2005
2006
The first Bangladeshi and Bengali Muslim Nobel laureate, and overall, the third person from Bengal to win a Nobel prize The first Arab woman and first and only Yemeni to receive a Nobel Prize. She is also the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate
2011
31
CATEGORY: LITERATURE Naguib Mahfouz (11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) Egyptian author, noted for his contribution to modern Arabic literature Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952) 2006 Turkish author famous for his novels My Name Is Red and Snow CATEGORY: SCIENCE Physics Abdus Salam (29 January 1926 – 21 November 1996) Pakistani Physicist Chemistry 1999 Ahmed Zewail (born February 26, 1946) Egyptian - American scientist
1988
The 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature was given to Naguib Mahfouz “who, through works rich in nuance - now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous - has formed an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind
The first Muslim author to receive such a prize
The 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Orhan Pamuk “who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures”.
The first and only Turk to receive the Nobel Prize
1979
The 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded jointly to Sheldon Lee Glashow, Salam, and Steven Weinberg “for their contributions to the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles, including, inter alia, the prediction of the weak neutral current”.
He is the first and only Pakistani and second Punjabi to receive the award. He is also the first Muslim scientist and only Muslim physicist to be awarded the Nobel Prize
The 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Ahmed Zewail “for his studies of the transition states of chemical reactions using femtosecond spectroscopy”
He is the only Muslim chemist to date to be awarded the Nobel Prize and the second Muslim scientist
Source: Data mined from Wikipedia, and verified through other datasets
32
Towards Global Breakthroughs in Higher Education in the Muslim World: A Policy Direction
Prof. Dato’ Sri Dr. Zaleha Kamaruddin
Rector, International Islamic University Malaysia
4th OIC World Biz 2013 Higher Education Conference Date: 27th September 2013 Time: 10.20 – 11 am Venue: Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur
Towards Global Breakthroughs in Higher Education in the Muslim World: A Policy Direction
Prof. Dato’ Sri Dr. Zaleha Kamaruddin Rector, International Islamic University Malaysia
1.
Introduction and Definition of Terms
With a focus on the Muslim world in particular, this paper posits that academic excellence is necessary for global breakthroughs in higher education. Such endeavours require educational transformation of the Muslim Ummah, which at the moment, imitates the existing disciplines to develop its knowledge base. In order to engender such desired transformation, there is a need for firm foundations for different disciplines, practical goal-oriented vision as well as a clear strategy and efficient processes. It is pertinent to observe that educational transformation of the Muslim world is a sine qua non for global breakthrough in research and development.
It is common in the Muslim societies to hear of relics of the contribution of Muslims to the development of major disciplines such as geography, mathematics, astrology, medicine and sociology. Time has come for the Muslim world to move forward on a fast-pace trajectory that seeks to identify modern contributions of Muslims to the technological development of the modern world. Therefore, there is a need for a clear-cut policy direction for higher education in the Muslim world in order to trigger a number of breakthroughs where everyone would acknowledge that history has indeed repeated itself.
Most of the descriptive data used in this paper are taken from the various reports published by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Statistical Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), which is duly acknowledged.
2
Before I proceed, it is important to define the key terms and contextualize their meanings within the ambit of this paper. It is undisputable that the central key term here is “Global
Breakthroughs”. Global breakthrough is the process of finding highly significant new solutions or inventions to world problems which are aimed at improving performance and the general well-being of the society. Such breakthroughs are achieved through consistent synergic efforts specifically directed at a global challenge. The current global challenges have placed the world in a situation where it fervently requires groundbreaking research to proffer new solutions.
Furthermore, higher education involves all forms of tertiary level education where students are groomed to be innovative, productive and independent in order to spearhead meaningful changes in the society. This naturally includes Universities, academies, institutions, colleges, vocational training centres, etc. In order to further the laudable objective of enhancing accessibility to higher education, different international human rights instruments have distinct provisions for this. For instance, Article 13 of the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1996 provides that "higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education". Considering the epistemological foundations of Islam, access to education at all levels is guaranteed but it is deplorable to observe that what is found in practice today may be different from such ideals.
Meanwhile, the Muslim world generally consists of all countries within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Muslim minorities in other countries. It is not only possible for Muslims in the OIC countries to come up with policy direction that would spur global
3
breakthroughs in research and development, but minority Muslim communities in non-Muslim countries also have a role to play in this regard. Transforming their minority communities within the non-Muslim environments would further project the beauty of Islamic ideals in the eyes of their host communities.
Against the above backdrop, this paper is broadly presented in three substantive parts. The first part examines the current state of affairs in the higher education system of the OIC countries. This is necessary to evaluate the position of higher educational institutions of the OIC countries in the competitive world. The second part considers the imperativeness of educational transformation of the Muslim world considering the current socio-political and economic crises bedeviling the Ummah as a whole. This is followed by an explanation of some important issues relating to global breakthroughs in research and development and the need to conduct policyoriented research that would significantly impact the development of Muslim countries in general. The paper then proposes a policy direction that would act as a catalyst for the desired global breakthroughs in higher education in the Muslim world.
2.
Current State of Higher Education in the Muslim World As a preliminary exposition before discussing the need for educational transformation that will bring about global breakthroughs, it is pertinent to examine the current state of higher education in the Muslim world with special reference to three main aspects: first, literacy rate; second, knowledge and innovation; and third, University ranking. These key areas represent the core of human capital development which is central to the development of the society and the world at large. Without quality education and cutting-edge research at
4
various levels of higher education, there cannot be breakthroughs in research and development.
2.1 Literacy Rate in the OIC Countries – A Comparison In the measurement of Human Assets Index (HAI) and the Human Development Index (HDI), one of the major indicators of development identified is adult literacy. Since the scope of this paper is higher education, we have focused on the adult literacy rate in OIC countries. Being an indicator for social development, the adult literacy rates in the OIC countries are still below the desired average. The world average of adult literacy rate is 80% while that of the OIC countries is 71%.1 Figure 1 below gives a clear picture of the adult literacy rates in the OIC countries in comparison with other developing countries, developed countries and the world as a whole.
1
Savaş Alpay (ed.), Education and Scientific Development in the OIC Member Countries 2012/2013, Ankara, Turkey: SESRIC-OIC, 2012, p. 6.
5
Figure 1. Adult Literacy Rates in Comparison
Without a clear policy and well-reasoned strategies on education, that cannot be educational transformation. Even though one may concede to the argument that the word “literacy” is subjective and one may fall prey to value judgment, fundamental Islamic teachings encourage Muslims to learn the fundamentals as well as beneficial human disciplines and scientific knowledge.
2.2 Knowledge and Innovation Issues with the literacy rates lead to knowledge and innovation. In the modern economies, there is much emphasis on Knowledge Economy (KE). For countries to attain economic growth, sustainability, and competitiveness, they draw a lot of expertise from the higher education. Within this context, the capacity of innovation based on the outputs of higher educational institutions in the Muslim world requires some close scrutiny. The number of scientific publications and patent applications by researchers in the OIC countries reflects
6
the level of productivity of such higher educational institutions and the extent of realization of the much desired transformation in such countries.
In addition, knowledge and innovation are two fundamental catalysts for global breakthroughs, particularly in the field of science and technology. Advances in innovation and scientific development are derived from patents and other intellectual property rights which are products of research and development. Therefore, “although not all inventions are patented, the number of patent applications may be considered as a proxy for the degree of innovative capability in a country.” The SESRIC Report sheds more light on the latest statistics from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): [T]he total number of patent applications around the world in 2010 is estimated at 1.98 million. With a total of 33,379 patents, OIC member countries accounted for nearly 1.7% of total patent applications worldwide. Meanwhile, 73.5% of global patents are filed by only 4 countries: USA (24.8% with 490,226 patents), China (19.8% with 391,177 patents), and Japan (17.4% with 344,598 patents), Republic of Korea (8.6% with 107,101 parents) and Germany (3.0% with 59,245 patents).2
Using the number of patent applications as a tool to measure the innovative capacity of the OIC countries, one may conclude that the performance of the higher education systems in these countries is not impressive. With the exceptions of countries like Iran, Malaysia and Indonesia who have the highest patent activity, it thus appears the OIC countries need educational transformation that will foster innovation and promote scientific development (See Table 1 below).
2
Ibid, p. 56.
7
Table 1 - Total Number of Patent Applications by Office: Residents and Non-residents
8
2.3 University Ranking Naturally, the innovative capacity of a University or any other higher institutions is one of the determining factors for its regional or global rating. Recently, the concept of ranking has increasingly gained both local and global prominence. Being one of the methods of
identifying and recognizing excellence in higher education, university ranking seeks to bring out the best out of world institutions of higher learning. World universities are being ranked by different organizations based on certain criteria that have been laid down to improve academic excellence and research output. Of late, Times, QS, Shanghai among others rankings have dominated the scene. In the QS University Rankings 2012, only 9 universities from the OIC Member States were rated among the top 400 world universities.3 However, in the QS University Rankings 2013, there is a slight improvement in the performance of universities in the OIC Member States. From only 9 universities in 2013, the number has risen to 11 universities in the top 400 world universities. Table 2 shows the 28 OIC Member States universities in the top 600 QS World University Rankings 2013.
Table 2 – Top 600 OIC Universities in QS World University Rankings 2013 Rank 167 216 250 253 269 299 303
3
Overall Score 56.9 49.9 45.1 44.7 42.7 40.2 40.0
University Universiti Malaya King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals American University of Beirut King Saud University Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Al-Farabi Kazakh National University L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University
Location Malaysia Saudi Arabia Lebanon Saudi Arabia Malaysia Kazakhstan Kazakhstan
See the Speech of Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu Secretary General Of The Organization Of Islamic Cooperation At The Thirty-Ninth Session Of The Council Of Foreign Ministers Of OIC Member States, available at http://www.oicoci.org/oicv2/topic/?t_id=7419&ref=3031&lan=en&x_key=university%20ranking
9
348 355 355 360 411-420 421-430 431-440 431-440 461-470 461-470 481-490 491-500 501-550 501-550 501-550 501-550 501-550 551-600 551-600 551-600 551-600
36.9 36.0 36.0 35.8
American University in Cairo Universiti Sains Malaysia Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) King Abdul Aziz University (KAU) Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) United Arab Emirates University Bilkent University Middle East Technical University Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) Bogazici University National University of Sciences and Technology Al-Imam Mohamed Ibn Saud Islamic University International Islamic University Malaysia Koc University Sabanci University Sultan Qaboos University Universitas Gadjah Mada Cairo University Istanbul Technical University Qatar University Umm Al-Qura University
University
Egypt Malaysia Malaysia Saudi Arabia Malaysia UAE Turkey Turkey Indonesia Turkey Pakistan Saudi Arabia Malaysia Turkey Turkey Oman Indonesia Egypt Turkey Qatar Saudi Arabia
2013 website:
Source: Author (Data mined from QS World http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings)
Rankings
The Muslim world has also mooted the idea of coming up with its own ranking. During the 3rd Conference of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research in 2006 held in Kuwait, the Islamic Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) proposed the idea of “Ranking the Universities of the Islamic World”. The proposal was given a prompt approval and this led to the setting up of a “core group” which was saddled with the responsibility of coming up with a blueprint on the procedures, criteria and mechanisms for the raking exercise. The members of the “core group” were the Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia, the Islamic Development Bank, Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), ISESCO, SESRIC, and the General Secretariat of OIC. Table 3 below shows the adopted criteria and indicators for the ranking of OIC universities. 10
Table 3 – The Adopted Criteria and Indicators for the Ranking of OIC Universities
Source: Adapted from the OIC Report. Report on adopted criteria, procedures and mechanisms for ranking of universities.4 It is believed the OIC Member States came up with the initiative as a result of the criticisms against the existing global ranking systems. Whatever be the case, education must be measurable
4
Cited in H. M. Doostar and S. A. Mirhosseini, “Revisiting the Core and Cover of Quality in Higher Education”, International Journal of Information Science and Management, vol. 7, No. 2, July / December 2009, p. 47.
11
to determine its value; and the goal of higher education in the Muslim world must be measurable based on setting criteria.
3.
Educational Transformation of the Muslim World
There is a constant desire to improve the quality of education across the world to ensure that academic excellence is pursued to the maximum and industry-tailored graduates are produced by the higher educational institutions. This significant desire is not only limited to the Muslim world but it is considered an important objective of all leading higher educational institutions across the world. In fact, policymakers in most countries have continuously focused on educational transformation of their respective countries through different successive strategic plans and policies on education. For instance, Malaysia revealed its National Higher Education Strategic Plan Beyond 2020 recently with a view to turning the country to an academic hub by the year 2020.
Of late, there has been much discussion on educational transformation driven by technological advancement. While this is a welcome development in education, there is definitely more to the discourse. We are envisaging a higher education policy that would significantly transform the lives of the youth with which they can contribute positively to transform the society. Mala Singh has identified a number of converging trends in higher education transformation in the 21st century. These trends which are geared towards global breakthroughs are summarized thus:
1. the requirement of higher education to demonstrate efficiency, effectiveness and value for money through business re-engineering drives, integration into public finance management accounting systems, external quality assurance systems and
12
other accountability frameworks designed to accommodate greater stakeholder scrutiny; 2. declining investments of public funds to subsidize student fees and service costs, and the requirement to ‘do more with less’ (e.g. massification of access at existing or reduced levels of funding). 3. the dominance of managerial and entrepreneurial approaches to and within higher education, resulting in the tendency to run higher education institutions like income generating businesses. 4. the privatisation of higher education in encouraged competition with public institutions or within public higher education itself (not only of service aspects like catering or cleaning but also specialised fields of study like business studies). 5. the increasing development of labour market responsive curriculum reforms intended to appeal to employers and students as ‘customers’ and ‘clients’, the shift of public and private funding from basic to applied research, increased emphasis on academic/industry links, and greater concern with issues of intellectual property rights and the prioritisation of research for product development and commercialisation.5
Naturally, educational transformation is a stepping stone towards global breakthroughs in higher education. While there have been a number of initiatives across the Muslim world to reposition higher education, one may argue that there has not been much breakthroughs. Rather than aiming at the Guinness World Records by producing the World’s Largest Envelope as produced by Aligarh Muslim University in India6, the Muslim world should undertake cutting-edge research that will positively impact people’s lives across geographical and linguistic borders.
5
Mala Singh, “Re-Inserting the ‘Public Good’ into Higher Education Transformation”, KAGISANO Higher Education Discussion Series, No. 1, Summer 2001, p. 10. 6 The World Record Academy has revealed the creation of the World’s Largest Envelope by a student from a leading Islamic University in India, Aligarh Muslim University. See “Largest envelope: Garima Angel breaks Guinness world record”, World Record Academy, January 9, 2013, http://www.worldrecordacademy.com/biggest/largest_envelope_Garima_Angel_breaks_Guinness_world_record_21 3185.html (Assessed 20 September 2013).
13
In the traditional Islamic sciences, there are numerous evidences of the disciplines previous scholars have studied closely from the Islamic perspectives. Such disciplines include political science, economics, philosophy, sociology, psychology, history, literature and even applied sciences. These disciplines were not studied in isolation. Works of previous scholars such as Al-Khwärizmï, Ibn Sīnā, Ibn al-Haytham, al-Farghānī, and Al-Kindi provide a good basis for modern transformation of the higher education sector in Muslim countries. Though there has been too much lethargy on the part of the Muslim world with centuries of intellectual torpidity, there is still room for a paradigm shift that would spearhead the much desired turning point in higher education.
The above analyses have laid the foundation on the imperativeness of educational transformation in higher education in the Muslim world. As a natural corollary to such analyses, this section explores issues that would spur global breakthroughs specifically in research and development and some disturbing data on higher education in the Muslim world. Admittedly, current practices and trends in the higher education sector in Muslim countries are not encouraging considering the amount of human and capital resources available for educational transformation.
For an earth-shattering transformation of the Muslim world, three significant issues must be imbued into the higher education system in order to set forth the launching pad for global breakthroughs in research and innovation.
14
3.1 Firm Foundations In transforming higher education, one may have to take a look at the underlying foundations of such process. From the very first revelation to Prophet Muhammad, Islam has encouraged the imperativeness of education in shaping the world.7 Such divinely inspired education imparted on the Prophet subsequently shaped the whole world and became a force to reckon with. According to The Global Religious Landscape, Muslims constitute 23% of the world population which makes Islam the second-largest religion in the world.8
Table 4 - World Muslim Population by Region9
As shown in Table 4, with an estimated 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, it is expected that such population advantage will be channeled through proactive endeavours to positively transform modern education system and contribute significantly to the advancement of science and technology.
7
Qur’an 96:1-5 which were the first revealed verses provide: “Recite in the name of your Lord who created Created man from a clinging substance. Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous - Who taught by the pen Taught man that which he knew not.” 8 Pew Research Centre, “The Global Religious Landscape: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Major Religious Groups as of 2010”, December 2012, p. 21. 9 Ibid, p. 22.
15
A careful study of the underlying building blocks of Islamic education, which in its unique manner, is inclusive of any form of education that brings benefit to humankind could bring about a renaissance in higher education in the Muslim world. This is where the Islamization of human disciplines comes into play. More recently, during the IIUM First World Congress on Islamicization, the word “Islamicization” was used to depict the inherent character of Islamic law and ethics in shaping human disciplines.
3.2 Practical Goal-Oriented Vision In constructing the foundational basis of modern educational system imbued with Islamic ethics, developmental needs, and beneficial potency of certain ideals embedded in the Qur’an and Sunnah, the stakeholders must have a practical goal-oriented vision. This should be cascaded from the top to bottom in the educational system of a country. It is disheartening to observe that many institutions in the Muslim world still adopt the rote learning method which discourages creativity and innovation, particularly in higher education. Academic theory must be combined with practical experience while incorporating practical aspects of business and industry into the curriculum. This can be achieved when the method of teaching is geared towards producing industry-oriented graduates in the higher institutions. Such an endeavour requires the constant intellectual stimulation by the teachers who are encouraged to provide an environment conducive to innovative education. This allows for the golden triad of education, innovation, and
technology. These endeavours require significant expenditures on research and development. Without funding, there cannot be innovative technological findings that would lead to global breakthroughs.
16
According to the latest statistics on expenditures on research and development, it is revealed that over 76% of the total R&D expenditures across the world is spent by the developed countries, while the OIC countries account for only 2.1%.10 Figure 2 below shows the top 10 OIC Countries by Gross Domestic Expenditures on R&D by million USD.
Figure 2 - Top 10 OIC Countries by GERD (Million USD)
Saudi Arabia Nigeria Morocco Indonesia Egypt Tunisia Pakistan Malaysia Iran Turkey 0
504 646 765 809 998 1,064 2,066 2,091 6,434 9,582 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000
Source: SESRIC, UNESCO, UIS Data Centre
In its Ten-Year Programme of Action to Meet the Challenges Facing the Muslim Ummah in the 21st Century, OIC has encouraged its Member countries to scale up their research expenditures in order to promote innovation and scientific development. It specifically requests member
countries “to encourage research and development programmes, taking into account that the global percentage of this activity is 2% of the gross Domestic Development (GDP), and request
10
Savaş Alpay (ed.), Education and Scientific Development in the OIC Member Countries 2012/2013, Ankara, Turkey: SESRIC-OIC, 2012, p. 51.
17
Member States to ensure that their individual contribution is not [less than] half of this percentage”.11 There is no doubt that innovation is driven by research and development, and without enough funds, such R&D efforts cannot be undertaken. Rather than being consumers of technological innovations, the vision of the higher education system in Muslim countries should be directed towards innovative technology that will positively transform the world.
3.3 Clear Strategy and Efficient Process While it is important to have firm foundations and practical goal-oriented vision in educational transformation, such endeavours must be driven by clear strategy and efficient process for maximum utilization of meager resources to produce groundbreaking research. In doing this, the Muslim world should come up with its own Key Performance Indicators and ensure they fulfil the needs of both worlds. In addition, the strategy for improving the quality of teaching, learning and research should be clearly outlined. The higher education sector needs to streamline and improve its internal processes for maximum output. It must imbibe the quality culture expounded in the Qur’an and Sunnah and ensure it is part of its core identity. From the very declarations in the Qur’an, quality and moral excellence are part and parcel of the Islamic culture. For instance, the Muslim Ummah is described thus:
Qur’an: “You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah”.12
11
See OIC, Ten-Year Programme of Action to Meet the Challenges Facing the Muslim Ummah in the 21st Century, Third Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 7-8 December 2005, Part 2, Section V, Article 4. 12 Qur’an 3:110. In the Hadith, the Prophet has encouraged excellence in all things even while slaughtering animals for consumption purposes: “On the authority of Abu Y’alaa Shaddad ibn Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who said: “Verily, Allah has prescribed excellence in all things. Thus, if you kill, kill in a good manner. If you slaughter, slaughter in a good manner. Each of you should sharpen his blade and spare suffering to the animal he is slaughtering”. Related by Muslim.
18
Hadith: “Verily, Allah loves that when anyone of you does a job he should perfect it".13
Such a quality entails a lot from the human and spiritual perspectives. Transposing such quality to academic excellence in higher education, Muslims are expected to be at the forefront in terms of efficient processes and clear strategies for educational transformation. The Islamic paradigm perfectly combines what Harvey & Stensaker14 describe as an intersection between quality definitions and the elitist and democratic concepts of culture as described in Table 5 below.
Table 5 - Intersection of quality definitions and elitist and democratic concepts of culture15 Culture Quality Elitist Democratic Excellence Creating an environment in Developing a set of shared, which the best prosper lived understandings of how to irrespective of others project, support and aspire to excellence Consistency Making sure that areas of high Everyone takes responsibility reputation perform for ensuring their own work consistently meets expectations and specifications Fitness for purpose Specifying an elitist purpose A common understanding of and ensuring everything purpose and how to achieve it. conforms to it Value for money Using reputational leverage to Developing an internalised set attract money from high of values that ensures profile resources and ensuring resources are used efficiently that it is spent effectively, or and effectively. at least to the satisfaction of donors Transformational Ensuring that top-graded A stakeholder-centred students are prepared approach that endeavours to (enhanced and empowered) enhance and empower for significant graduate jobs students and researchers:
13 14
Related by Al-Bayhaqi. Lee Harvey & Bjørn Stensaker, “Quality culture: Understandings, boundaries and linkages”, European Journal of Education, Special Issue: The Search for Quality in the European Higher Education Area, Vol. 43, No. 4, December 2008, pp. 427–442. 15 Ibid.
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and that top researchers are fully supported and enabled to attract and deliver major research projects
prioritising the development of participants in the learning and knowledge development process
Such quality culture is expected to gradually transform the higher education system in the OIC countries with a view to nurturing world-class universities. The role of these universities in the society and the economies of the countries where they exist must be emphasized. The UK
Jewels in the crown report identified the following seven major roles of world-class universities.16
1. Generating impacts through a large volume of excellent research. Aiming towards attaining the world-class university status requires large volume of quality researches that have significant impact on the society and economy. Standards must not be comprised in the drive towards producing excellent research that can stand any form of academic scrutiny from any part of the world. Mass productivity must be matched with academic excellence.
2. Solving global challenges through multidisciplinary research. Complex global issues require dedicated research outputs that will identify practical solutions. Some of the global issues such as global warming, domestic violence, and human rights violation, require multidisciplinary research. This has been the focus of most higher education systems within the OIC, including Malaysia, through the promotion of multidisciplinary
16
The seven major roles discussed here draw significantly from Jewels in the crown: The importance and characteristics of the UK’s world-class universities, Russell Group Papers, Issue 4, 2012, pp. 17-32.
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research to tackle serious global challenges. World-class universities should be able to forecast some global challenges which require some early warning mechanisms.
3. International leadership and global networks. Attracting talents who are sourced across the globe through international leadership and global networks is another major role of world-class universities. Such strategic partnership with like minds involves research collaborations and exchange programmes have the potential to improve the kind of benefits deliverable to the society and the world at large. Universities in the OIC region should form strategic partnerships and initiate active collaborations, not only with universities in fellow Member States, but also with leading universities across the world.
4. Formation of clusters of knowledge-intensive activity.
Clusters are necessary for
intensive research. Therefore, top researchers within the OIC countries should constitute clusters of knowledge-intensive activity for the purpose of addressing some global issues. Such endeavours may lead to global breakthroughs. An agglomeration of experts from both the academia and the industry into research-oriented clusters will go a long way in enhancing research output and innovation.
5. Attracting investment from business and international sources. Securing research grants from national and international bodies with a view to channeling the funds to productive research endeavours is another major role world-class universities play in the society. Higher institutions are major sources of investment which is channeled towards upgrade
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research infrastructure, educating more students, and coming up with cutting-edge research outputs.
6. Exploiting the findings of research and technological breakthroughs. This should be the major focus of world-class universities in their quest for global breakthroughs. Findings of research must be related to problems identified and must have practical implications on the society and the economy. Intellectual property should be commercialized promptly. Engaging in such cutting-edge research that will lead to patents has the potential of creating a source of income for the higher educational institutions in the OIC countries.
7. Producing highly skilled graduate and postgraduates. Improving the quality of teaching and research productivity will enhance the ranking of the university. And this has the tendency of attracting the best brains from across the world. Such young talents attracted from all over the world have the tendency of producing innovative research outputs that will benefit the society.
4.
Towards Global Breakthroughs: A Policy Direction At the intergovernmental level, the OIC has acknowledged the challenges facing education in the Muslim world with particular reference to the low standards of education and the spread of literacy. In its Ten-Year Programme of Action to Meet the Challenges Facing the Muslim Ummah in the 21st Century of 2005, it proposes the following Action Plan for higher
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education that will bring about educational transformation and global breakthroughs for immediate implementation in its Member countries:
V. Higher Education, Science and Technology 1. Effectively improve and reform educational institutions and curricula in all levels, link postgraduate studies to the comprehensive development plans of the Islamic World. At the same time, priority should be given to science and technology and facilitating academic interaction and exchange of knowledge among the academic institutions of Member States, and urge the Member States to strive for quality education that promotes creativity, innovation, and research and development 2. Assimilate highly-qualified Muslims within the Muslim World, develop a comprehensive strategy in order to utilize their expertise and prevent brain migration phenomenon. 3. Entrust the General Secretariat to study the creation of an OIC Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievements by Muslim scientists. 4. Call upon Islamic countries to encourage research and development programmes, taking into account that the global percentage of this activity is 2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and request Member States to ensure that their individual contribution is not inferior to half of this percentage. 5. Take advantage of the important results of the World Summit on Information Society, held in Tunis, in which all Muslim States actively participated with a view to close the digital gap between the developed and developing States and request the General Secretariat to follow up these results in order to build the capacities of Member States to adhere to the information society which, in turn, will sustain development in Muslim States. 6. Encourage public and private national research institutions to invest in technology capacity-building, in areas of advanced technologies, such as the acquisition of nuclear technology for peaceful uses. 7. Review the performance of the OIC-affiliated universities so as to improve their effectiveness and efficiency, and call for participation in the two Waqfs (Endowments) dedicated to the two universities in Niger and Uganda, and provide support to the International Islamic University in Malaysia. 8. Call upon the Member States to extend enhanced support to the Islamic University of Technology in Bangladesh in order to enable it to contribute more towards capacity building of the OIC Member States through human resources development.
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9. Urge the IDB to further enhance its programme of scholarships for outstanding students and Hi-Tech specializations aimed at developing the scientific, technical, and research capabilities of scientists and researchers in the Member States.17
Nearly ten years after the Action Plan was released, one is yet to experience significant changes in the higher education sector of most Muslim countries. With the exception of a few Universities, it appears the higher education sectors of most countries are experiencing an intellectual sloth. Recently a controversy broke out on Twitter regarding the comments of a controversial figure who disguises as an atheist; Richard Dawkins. His comments that sparked off the Twitter row go thus: “All the world’s Muslims have fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College, Cambridge.”18 He believes Muslim scientists were great in the distant past but retrogression has set in which contributes to the modern problems in the Muslim societies. Naturally, Muslims will react vehemently against such ill-natured comments because they are coming from a controversial figure who naturally does not recognize religion as a potent force in the scheme of things in life.
Why not take a different look at Dawkins’ comments. Rather than being reactionary all the time, which of course is natural, he might just be saying the bitter truth. So, instead of throwing the baby with the bath water, why not look inwards and identify the challenge with a view to finding a lasting solution. It is true the Noble Prize issue itself is more political than genuine achievements, but this belief may be more connected to the Nobel Peace Prize and Noble Prize
17
OIC, Ten-Year Programme of Action to Meet the Challenges Facing the Muslim Ummah in the 21st Century, Third Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 7-8 December 2005, Part 2, Section V. 18 John Stevens, “'Muslims peaked in the Dark Ages. But since then?': Richard Dawkins embroiled in Twitter row over controversial comments”, Mail Online, 9 August, 2013, at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article2387635/Richard-Dawkins-embroiled-Twitter-row-controversial-comments.html (Assessed on 23rd September 2013).
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for Literature. However, that of Sciences remain significant and it is always associated with a major global breakthrough in physics, chemistry, biology or any other aspect of sciences. The Table in Appendix I provides the list of Muslim Nobel Laureates from inception in 1901 to 2012. It shows there have been six Nobel Peace Laureates and two Nobel Prize Laureates for Literature. Under the science category, the whole Muslim Ummah has only got one each for both physics and chemistry. While the Peace and Literature categories may not be regarded as major breakthroughs because they are subject to political expediencies, one may reasonably conclude that the Muslim Ummah has had just two global breakthroughs in sciences and technology for over a century. These two scientists are Pakistani Scientist Abdu Salam19 and the Egyptian-American Ahmed Zewail.20
Moving forward, in order to ensure that quality research and academic excellence are directed towards breakthroughs that will positively impact the whole world by solving some emerging problems, policymakers should focus on this threefold proposal: Governance of higher education, Priority setting at the regional level, and Direction and funding of research.
19
Since Abdu Salam died as an Ahmadiyya, he is considered not to be a Muslim and as such has reduced the number of modern Muslim Nobel Laureates to just one. In 1974, the Pakistani Parliament made a constitutional amendment that declared Ahmadies as non-Muslims. So, when Abdu Salam died in 1996, his body was brought back to Pakistan and he was buried in Bahishti Maqbara which is a cemetery of the Ahmadiyya movement. Initially, the epitaph on his tomb read “First Muslim Nobel Laureate”, but on the orders of a local magistrate, the word “Muslim” was erased and the epitaph read “First Nobel Laureate”. The tombstone was later vandalized later but his name still appears there. Baseer Naweed; Stewart Sloan (22 November 2012). "PAKISTAN: Is Dr. Abdus Salam – a Nobel Laureate or persona non grata?". Asian Human Rights Commission. Retrieved 28 November 2012. 20 The OIC should introduce its Nobel Prize Awards for innovation and scientific development to encourage scientists to increase their innovative capacities. This will encourage more Muslim scientists to aim at global breakthroughs. The current IDB Prize for Science and Technology is a good example of this endeavour.
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4.1 Governance of Higher education Governance is of paramount importance in giving the strategic direction for higher education in the Muslim world. This involves both the macro and micro levels of governance within the higher education sector of a country. In essence, for us to have world-class universities in the Muslim world, favourable governance that will encourage research and innovation is needed. From the UK perspective, the critical success factors of a world-class university highlighted in the UK Jewels in the crown report, are:
– –
a high concentration or critical mass of talent, both faculty and students sufficient resources to provide an extensive, comprehensive learning environment and a rich environment for advanced research favourable governance allowing and encouraging autonomy, strategic vision, innovation, efficient resource management and flexibility.21
–
Both “critical mass of talent” and “sufficient resources” require favourable governance in defining the strategic direction of the higher education sector. The OIC member countries must leave their comfort zones and embrace change in a highly competitive world. This can only be achieved through academic excellence which involves groundbreaking research and innovation that has the potential of changing the world we live in for the better.
Aiming towards having a number of world-class universities among the OIC countries requires a paradigm shift where quality is emphasized in teaching and learning, research and consultancy. This is necessary because attaining the position of a world-class university is a prerequisite to
21
Jewels in the crown: The importance and characteristics of the UK’s world-class universities, Russell Group Papers, Issue 4, 2012, p. 3.
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making global breakthroughs. For this purpose, we adopt the following definition of world-class university: [A]n institution that has a high concentration of excellence, talent and modern infrastructure, that is utilised with vision and creativity to deliver excellent learning and research in order to make a significant contribution to the world’s knowledge, health, wealth and well-being.22
The above definition anchors the role of a world-class university to significant breakthroughs that have the potential of positively impacting the world. Such universities maximally exploit the findings of research and technological breakthroughs to deliver benefits to the society and the economy of the countries within which they exist.
4.2 Priority setting at the regional level Just like the OIC Action Plan which significantly addresses higher education in the Muslim world, there is a need to set our priorities at the regional level for educational transformation that will bring about meaningful breakthroughs in all disciplines. We may need to reassess our priorities and reposition our roles within the national and ummatic aspirations. This involves policies that will address the changing educational landscape and quality requirements as discussed above. Such priorities must actively address three main questions: why is the quality of higher education in the Muslim world lagging behind despite its longstanding contributions in the past? Why are Universities unable to utilize the contribution of scientific research in economic development to initiate meaningful global breakthroughs? And how can the Universities identify high performing researchers who have the potential of going beyond the ordinary through groundbreaking researches that could be scaled up to achieve global
22
Ibid, p. 8.
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breakthroughs? Addressing these practical issues is expected to prepare the higher education sectors in the Muslim countries for the much desired breakthroughs in research and development.
4.3 Direction and funding of research As indicated above, the OIC countries are still lagging behind in the aspect of direction and funding of research. Research funding is essential in generating impacts through excellent researches that are directed at specific challenges of the local and global communities. Global challenges can be tackled with interdisciplinary research where hi-tech innovation clusters from across the Muslim world are established and jointly funded to achieve an identified objective. However, one must not shy away from the fact that funding remains a major challenge in Muslim countries, particularly in their higher education sectors. Therefore, it is proposed that Universities should establish successful businesses in their own right to ensure financial sustainability, and encourage the alumni to give back to their Alma Mater. The Harvard’s Endowment Fund, which has been relatively successful, may be closely studied as a model to be adapted by the Universities in the Muslim world.
5.
Conclusion
It is now time for higher educational institutions to add a key factor to their strategic plans regarding global breakthroughs in research and innovation. While such endeavour should not just be mere declaration of intent in the policy document, there should be proper funding for top researchers who should be identified and encouraged to produce cutting-edge researches that have the potential of changing the conditions of the people for the better. Such productive
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researchers should be identified from all disciplines and constituted in what may be referred to as a “Breakthrough Team” or “H-tech Team” which should be saddled with the responsibility of studying existing issues, problems, and challenges facing any sector in the world, and coming up with sustainable solutions that will make significant difference to the world. The hi-tech team must be motivated to produce earth-shattering research. While it is admitted that there are different breakthrough models that have the potential of bringing about transformative change in higher education, it is pertinent to emphasize that whatever model adopted by the higher institutions in the Muslim world, it must reflect three important stages: first, identify a select group of proven researchers from different fields and constitute a number of teams; second, invite accomplished scientists and innovators to motivate them and stimulate their creative acumen for transformative change; and third, invite each of the teams to come up with a major breakthrough in their respective fields. Such endeavours should reflect the unique Islamic ideals since they are required to also be the torchbearers of Islam while contributing positively to the world around us.
These are the true Khalifahs who are expected to be nurtured by the higher educational institutions in the Muslim world. Nurturing these Khalifahs in the proper way will bring about global breakthroughs in research and development and this will ensure our graduates uphold the principle of wasatiyyah without falling prey to either undue laxity or unwarranted extremism. One may conclude that this is the time where the fine blueprint of the OIC on higher education is transformed to practical realities for educational transformation that will bring about global breakthroughs before the end of this decade. The stakeholders in the higher education sector of
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the Muslim countries now need to walk the talk and engineer meaningful changes in nurturing world-class higher educational institutions.
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APPENDIX I LIST OF MUSLIM NOBEL LAUREATES (1901 – 2012)
CATEGORY: PEACE Year 1978 Bio and Profession Anwar Al-Sadat, born 25th December 1918 died 6th October 1981 Egyptian Policymaker Yasser Arafat (24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004) 1994 Palestinian Politician 2003 Shirin Ebadi (born 21 June 1947) Iranian Human Right Activist Mohamed El Baradei (born June 17, 1942 Egyptian Policymaker Muhammad Yunus (born 28 June 1940 Bangladeshi Economist and founder of Grameen Bank Tawakul Karman, (born 7 February 1979) Human rights activist based in Yemen. A prominent leader in the Arab Spring. The 2003 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Ebadi “for her efforts for democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children The 2005 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to El Baradei and IAEA “for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to Yunus and Grameen Bank “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below” The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly given to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Karman “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work”.[ Rationale He, along with Menachem Begin was awarded 1978 Nobel Peace Prize “for their contribution to the two frame agreements on peace in the Middle East, and on peace between Egypt and Israel, which were signed at Camp David on September 17, 1978” The 1994 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin “for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East” Comment The first Muslim to receive the Nobel Prize
Called by some "the first Palestinian to receive a Nobel Prize" though his father was of Egyptian bloodlines and that Arafat was actually born in Cairo, not Palestine The first and only Iranian to receive a Nobel Prize. She was also the first Muslim woman to receive such an honor He was the second Egyptian to be awarded Nobel Peace Prize (2005)
2005
2006
The first Bangladeshi and Bengali Muslim Nobel laureate, and overall, the third person from Bengal to win a Nobel prize The first Arab woman and first and only Yemeni to receive a Nobel Prize. She is also the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate
2011
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CATEGORY: LITERATURE Naguib Mahfouz (11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) Egyptian author, noted for his contribution to modern Arabic literature Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952) 2006 Turkish author famous for his novels My Name Is Red and Snow CATEGORY: SCIENCE Physics Abdus Salam (29 January 1926 – 21 November 1996) Pakistani Physicist Chemistry 1999 Ahmed Zewail (born February 26, 1946) Egyptian - American scientist
1988
The 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature was given to Naguib Mahfouz “who, through works rich in nuance - now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous - has formed an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind
The first Muslim author to receive such a prize
The 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Orhan Pamuk “who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures”.
The first and only Turk to receive the Nobel Prize
1979
The 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded jointly to Sheldon Lee Glashow, Salam, and Steven Weinberg “for their contributions to the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles, including, inter alia, the prediction of the weak neutral current”.
He is the first and only Pakistani and second Punjabi to receive the award. He is also the first Muslim scientist and only Muslim physicist to be awarded the Nobel Prize
The 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Ahmed Zewail “for his studies of the transition states of chemical reactions using femtosecond spectroscopy”
He is the only Muslim chemist to date to be awarded the Nobel Prize and the second Muslim scientist
Source: Data mined from Wikipedia, and verified through other datasets
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