Libya’s educational curriculum stagnated during the Gaddafi era. In the 1980’s, the educational system was designed to fit a political agenda, which resulted in adopting a mismatched hybrid of methods with incoherent and unsustainable visions.

Libya’s educational curriculum stagnated during the Gaddafi era. In the 1980’s, the educational system was designed to fit a political agenda, which resulted in adopting a mismatched hybrid of methods with incoherent and unsustainable visions.

Nouri Kurnaf, Head of Curriculum Management of Secondary Education at the Ministry of Education said in the beginning of the 1980’s- due to political ideologies- Libya gradually replaced the general secondary level of education with a specialist course of education. Twenty-seven secondary specialized schools were established, including basic sciences and several others.  

“This eventually failed,” said Kurnaf. “And it was replaced by the specialist secondary level using local curriculum.”

Yet in 2009, the traditional local curriculum of science and mathematics for all educational levels was changed yet again and replaced by a translated Singaporean curriculum. British experts were assigned to formulate English language curriculum, according to Kurnaf.

Revolutionary changes

After the revolution, educational ministries attempted to create a more sustainable curriculum, which involved re-introducing the secondary educational system in the academic year 2012 – 2013.  There are currently 80,000 pupils in the secondary system and 150,000 at the elementary level.

Ali Obaid, Minister of Education, said the return to the two-tier system faced several obstacles since the second and third year high school grades needed to combine what they previously learned with the new subjects to graduate from high school.

“We have exerted huge efforts to return to the two-tier system. It was suggested to establish a scheme which includes mandatory subjects and 15 specialized elective ones, which required opening 15 additional classes other than the ones already imposed and consequently, we were forced to assign one teacher for merely three students or even one,” he explained.

Singaporean curriculum

The adoption of the Singaporean curriculum was the first sign of progress in terms of organizing the educational plan and identifying clear educational objectives. The new methods adopted in teaching the textbook were also more up-to-date, as were teacher’s guides and new evaluation methods.

However, this curriculum contained numerous errors, which did not go unnoticed. In January 2012, curriculum officials in the new government were criticized publically as well as in private sessions for their unserious efforts in correcting errors and performing the required evaluations.

In mathematics, for example, math teachers could not solve basic sixth-grade level math problems. Experts demanded switching this subject from the sixth grade to higher levels.

Shortsighted solutions

Two years after submitting these observations, the Minister of Education said, “These errors do exist and we are not able to fix them on time.” He also criticized the educational experts by saying, “We have educational experts in Libya who waste their time and provide no proper solutions.”

On the other hand, educational experts believe the Singaporean curriculum was adopted without a clear plan and left teachers unqualified to teach the curricula in appropriately.  The increased number of students also left teachers overwhelmed with over 40 students per class.

Traditional teaching methods

The traditional teaching method adopted in Libya for decades taught through dictation, or one-way communication.

Although the curricula of several subjects were developed, teachers lacked the ability to explain them in an appropriate way, which created an obstacle in achieving the desired educational goals of new approaches.

Modern methods are suspect

Teacher Ahmed Abdelhamid said, “The incompatibility of these approaches with the current intellect of the students has serious impacts, not to mention the fact that most teachers are not able to comprehend the curricula and transfer them to the students.”

Numerous teachers of mathematics and science attended training courses to familiarize themselves with the new teaching methods but faced opposition by parents at some schools who believed the new ways to be improper. As a result, teachers resorted to their traditional methods of teaching.

“The Singaporean curriculum requires computer and Internet skills by both the teacher and students, but most teachers lack such skills,” Abdelhamid added.

Automated exams

The Ministry of Education has adopted an automated exam system for elementary and secondary level exams wherein multiple choice questions are to be answered in a record amount of time.

According to experts, such methods are unscientific and useless for several subjects, especially mathematics, Arabic, English and other subjects that require analysis and expressive skills.

“We are not seeking a scientific method to evaluate the students since proper assessment is not based on examination results,” said the Minister of Education. “In Scandinavian countries, the teacher may assess students without conducting examinations as there are several other methods of evaluation.”

Poorly qualified teachers

The Minister of Education explained that the use of automated systems as opposed to the traditional ones is due to the lack of qualified professionals and the general low qualifications of the teachers.

“They can speak neither correct Arabic nor can they express their ideas and knowledge with properly written language. Teachers often don’t understand what students have written.”

The minister also underlined that the automated system is designed to prevent cheating, a persistent problem in Libyan schools.

“If the automated method is used properly, it will provide good outcomes. The medicine university uses the multiple-choice exam system, as does TOEFL,” he added.

However, the minister admitted, “No country in the world relies solely on automated means since they provide the student with a 25% chance of passing without even studying the subject.”