Last week, Mohamed Morsi was sworn in as the fifth president of the Arab Republic of Egypt. His inauguration was watched by the world for many reasons, being the symbolic resolution to a year-and-a-half of Tahrir Square protests, Arab Spring movements, cries for democracy, the army’s interference on behalf of the people, the army’s malfeasance against the people, a neck-to-neck political race, and the dramatic trial of ex-president Mubarak. However, President Morsi has accomplished another feat of significance, that of becoming the first university professor to head a modern Arab nation.
As University World News reports, his election has huge implications for education in the region. The recent revolutions rolled off a precipice of widespread youth unemployment and lagging competitiveness in the global knowledge economy. Lack of adequate education played a critical role in destabilizing the old regimes. As an example of how badly underfunded institutions are, in Cairo, wages for professors have remained so low that the same lecturer standing before a podium in the daytime might be found taking the wheel of a taxi come evening.
Last month, a bill that would have reformed educational practices from the 1970s made it through the initial hurdles when the entire assembly was dissolved by a supreme court decision. The bill’s salary and university leadership provisions were “shelved” as a result. Many academics hope Morsi, who taught materials science at Zagazig University, can breathe new life into it. But he will face serious challenges, as the military still holds the greatest share of legislative and executive power in the land.
Morsi’s other posts have included professorships at Cairo University and California State University-Northridge, where he began his academic career after graduating with a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. According to the Daily Trojan, it is not clear to what extent “American values and ideals” will influence his leadership. But research and development, an integral part of the Western educational framework, is positioned to account for 2.5% of the GDP in his political plan. It remains to be seen how the scary “Islamist” of some media outlets will tackle the issues of standardized testing and outdated school facilities.
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