Education Ministers defer review of Arab research

The Arab Ministers for Higher Education and Scientific Research deferred in their current meeting at Zayed University to the review of the Arab Scientific, Technological and innovation research strategy. The move follows a proposal from the Saudi Higher Education and Scientific Research Ministers Dr Khalid Al Angari. The request got a unanimously support from his Arab counterparts. Al Angari explained that the participants have not yet been briefed about the strategy that responds to the specificities of the Arab countries, calling for more time to study the content to discuss it at a future Conference. The strategy includes general framework for Arab cooperation in the areas of scientific research through the scientific research centres, universities, production and industrial corporations, services, setting up of funding corporations, besides their financing mechanisms at the scientific research centres. There are 400 universities across the Arab world, which include about 9 million students, of whom 10 per cent are in post-graduate studies. 80 per cent of the undergraduate students are enrolled in humanities, while 20 per cent of them are enrolled in the scientific programmes. The Arab countries spend 0. 04 per cent on the scientific research, while the industrial countries spend between 3- 5 per cent of their GDP on the scientific research.