The full text of the executive order聽has been released by the White House.

While there had been advance reports that the new US administration was contemplating such a move, the signing of the order late last week still came as a surprise to many, including affected US government agencies and front-line staff, none of which had received any advance notice or consultation around the implementation of the order.

The move affects more than 17,000 students from the seven countries that are currently enrolled with US institutions, 71% of which (or 12,269 students) are from Iran. Another 2,300 scholars from the seven affected countries are currently in the US as well –聽and again, a strong majority of these professors and researchers (82%) are from Iran.

While the full implications of the executive order are not yet clear, here is what we know so far:

• It prevents citizens from the affected countries, with the exception of those travelling on diplomatic credentials, from receiving a visa to enter the US.

• It requires US officials to put in place strengthened screening processes for visitors to the US, including foreign students. This “uniform screening standard and procedure” is expected to include such measures as “in-person interviews; a database of identity documents proffered by applicants to ensure that duplicate documents are not used by multiple applicants; amended application forms that include questions aimed at identifying fraudulent answers and malicious intent; a mechanism to ensure that the applicant is who the applicant claims to be; a process to evaluate the applicant鈥檚 likelihood of becoming a positively contributing member of society and the applicant鈥檚 ability to make contributions to the national interest; and a mechanism to assess whether or not the applicant has the intent to commit criminal or terrorist acts after entering the United States.”

Over the weekend, US educators were quick to reassure foreign students and scholars that they can continue their studies uninterrupted. However, students are also being advised not to leave the US during the 90-day travel ban. Nor will family or friends from abroad be able to visit students in the US while the ban is in effect.

Aside from those specific points, there has been 聽and protest in the wake of the executive order. Reports indicate it has been inconsistently applied by travel operators, airport officials, and border control staff in these early days of implementation. And it is unclear what additional screening processes will be put in place following the travel ban, or how any such new provisions will affect new students, current students, foreign scholars, and US host institutions.

We will have a more on this story in the coming days, particularly its longer-term implications for US educators and foreign students in the United States.

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These are some of the findings from an annual survey of international students conducted by . IDP鈥檚 Manager, External Affairs, Kim Dienhoff, presented high-level findings from four years of survey data at the recent NAFSA conference in Boston, Massachusetts.

The session focused in large part on reaching students in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). With nearly a third of the region鈥檚 355 million people aged 15 to 25, it is perhaps not surprising that Internet usage, and the penetration of social networks in particular, is high.

Ms Dienhoff paired the IDP survey data with additional research to provide an important summary of social media habits and trends in the region.

Social media usage in MENA was particularly visible during the pro-democracy protests of the Arab Spring beginning in 2011, leaving many observers with the impression that major global networks, such as Facebook and YouTube, are widely used across the region.

Internet penetration is high with nearly 90% indicating they access the web from home. A much smaller proportion (34%) say they have Internet access at work. “For marketers this probably means that you need to schedule online activities like chat rooms, Skype sessions, virtual fairs, or webinars in the evening once people are home from work,” notes Ms Dienhoff.

There are of course variations from country to country. Internet penetration varies from 85-90% in Bahrain, the UAE, and Qatar to, at the lower end of the range, 44-50% in Jordan and Egypt. Nearly nine in ten Internet users in MENA use social media every day. Smartphones account for 40% of web impressions in the region (about 45% above the global average), and smartphone penetration ranges from a low of 16% in Morocco to 73-75% in the UAE and Qatar. It is fair to say that, at these levels of adoption, a mobile responsive site is a must for reaching students and parents in the region.

Facebook is your #1 friend

As the following chart illustrates, Facebook is the leading network with a 89% penetration among MENA Internet users. Twitter and Google+ are a distant second and third respectively, but each nevertheless has been widely adopted as well. As with the Internet and mobile usage patterns we noted earlier, the chart reflects national variations as well, including the notably high levels of Twitter usage in Saudi Arabia.

Top five social networks in MENA and selected markets by percentage of Internet users. Source: IDP

Adoption rates are helpful in looking at relative usage from market to market but the absolute numbers of users on each service is arguably the key metric. The following chart reflects the population of Facebook users by country, and illustrates that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq, and the UAE have some of the largest populations in the region that are active on this leading social network.

Population of Facebook users by country, 2013. Sources: IDP, Arab Social Media Report-2013

This variance in user counts by market is notable in part because each country carries with it its own language preferences. English and Arabic are by far the most-preferred languages among the region鈥檚 Internet users, with the exception of markets such as Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia where French is the clear language of choice.

Beyond Facebook

Twitter has also been widely adopted by MENA Internet users and the following chart provides a summary of Twitter user counts for selected markets across the region.

Twitter user populations by country, 2013. Sources: IDP, Arab Social Media Report-2013

As the chart illustrates, Twitter is especially well used in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom accounts, on average, for roughly 47% of all Twitter traffic in the region. And, influenced by the fact that half of the Saudi population of Internet users prefers to use Arabic online, 74% of all Tweets by MENA users are in Arabic (as compared to only 18% in English).

YouTube, while not a social network as such, is one of the largest and most heavily used sites on the Internet, and its content is easily and widely shared on social media. It happens that this leading global video service is also extremely popular in many MENA states.

YouTube reach in MENA. Source: IDP

YouTube is the second or third-ranked site by usage in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, and Morocco. Across the region, there are 300 million YouTube playbacks each and every day, and Saudi Arabia leads the pack as the #1 market in the world in terms of views per capita.

“YouTube of course is highly valuable to marketers,” says Ms Dienhoff. “So if you don鈥檛 have a YouTube channel you should probably get one. You can use it to house videos that are then used on many other platforms and of course it will help greatly with your SEO.”

Implications for marketers

As the preceding charts and figures clearly reflect, social media usage in the region is highly concentrated around the most-popular social networks and social content sites in the world, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. “The good news is that they are using the same platforms you are already familiar with,” adds Ms Dienhoff. (Not to mention that you can reach the vast majority of prospects in the region in English and Arabic.)

For additional trends and best practices in social media, please see our post “Facebook is still the top social network but other platforms are growing faster.” It includes links to some of our most-popular posts on social media strategy, including tips for Facebook, Twitter, and social video.

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This January, the League of Arab States and the British Council held a that centred on education as a key to economic development in the region and to alleviating the problem of youth unemployment. One of the symposium鈥檚 main themes was improving English education and English language skills, backed by British Council research showing that MENA workers with English earn up to three times as much as non-English speakers.

Why English?

A January 2015 World Bank report stresses that while great improvements in education have been made across the region in access, funding, literacy rates, and gender equality, . These include an overall lack of educational quality and a mismatch between what students are learning and the skills that employers want.

A survey of employers in the region found that employers consider only one-third of new graduates ready for the workplace; the same study found that only one-third of students considered themselves ready to enter the labour market. In addition, school-age populations are on the rise, putting an increased strain on already-taxed public education systems.

A 2012 study undertaken in eight MENA countries by Euromonitor International (and commissioned by the British Council) pointed out that many employment-related problems could be ameliorated by better language education. The study found that salaries were generally higher in the region for English-language speakers.

Employees with better English skills enjoyed salaries from 5% (Tunisia) to as high as 200% (Iraq) more than their counterparts with no English. In addition, it found a correlation between poor fluency (and political instability) and unemployment.

The Euromonitor study noted that private-sector development in many key industries such as IT and software development, telecommunications, and banking/finance would be greatly accelerated by a boost in the number of qualified English speakers.

A long way to go

The Education First (EF) English Proficiency Index (EPI) is a global survey that measures English levels in markets around the world. Its research findings note that, 鈥淭he Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is by far 鈥� In both TOEFL and IELTS test results for several past years, Arabic speakers have placed in the bottom tier of world rankings.

Egyptian students hoping to study in Turkey 鈥� a country that promotes itself strongly as a less-expensive and close-to-home destination for Arabs, with classes held mainly in English 鈥� are often stymied by their lack of academic English skills. Saudi Arabian students hoping to study in the US or UK using government scholarships are usually granted up to 18 months for language study prior to academic work, but they often need even more time still to bring their English skills to the level required for advanced study abroad.

And, similar to conditions in many parts of the world, well-qualified instructors are scarce across the region. According to a British Council survey of over 1,000 teachers in the region, the best-qualified instructors often end up being moved into higher levels of public education, where students and schools are both more interested in high marks over actual fluency.

MENA youth are fully aware of the importance of English in terms of employment mobility, but educational opportunities are still often limited to those able to receive private education, given the over-stretched resources of most public educational systems in the region.

Will travel for English

As many challenges as there currently are to greater levels of English fluency in the region, a 5-7% increase in the number of English speakers is predicted over the next few years, and special programmes to nurture this increased language skill are becoming more prevalent in the region.

Probably the most visible example of this 鈥� at least in English-speaking countries hosting large numbers of language learners 鈥� is the King Abdullah Scholarship Programme (KASP) offered by the Saudi Arabian government. In 2013, Saudi Arabia was the top country of origin for students in intensive English programmes in the US according to IIE Open Door statistics 鈥� more than twice the number of China, the next-largest source market. Most of these students intend to continue on to university programmes. Saudi Arabia was the fourth-leading source of students in full-time tertiary academic programmes in the US, according to the 2014 IIE Open Doors report, with more than a 20% increase in numbers from the previous report cycle.

Kuwait is another country exporting its language learners, with Open Doors listing the oil-rich nation as one of the fastest-growing student populations in the US. Kuwait has moved up to be the 7th most-represented country in intensive English programmes in the US.

In-country initiatives

In other MENA countries less able to send their students abroad for further opportunity, in-country programming is key, and reports the British Council is a key sponsor or provider of services in many of these countries. For example:

• In Algeria, the first phase of a nationwide teacher training and curricular reform programme for English education, under an agreement with the Algerian Ministry of Education, began in November 2014. In addition to face-to-face and online education intended to reach every English teacher in Algeria, this Strategic English Education Development for Schools (SEEDS) programme includes a complete overhaul of the English curriculum and testing system.
• Oman鈥檚 English teachers have been able to take Continuing Professional Development courses online using the British Council鈥檚 . The first instalment of highly interactive programme included discussion forums set up for smaller groups of teachers; it was deemed such a success that it spurred a second training programme in 2013/14.
• Two Moroccan universities have adopted the British Council鈥檚 , which enables them to both place students appropriately and to measure progress after students complete certain modules of the LearnEnglish Pathways programme. The early success of this pilot has led to similar e-learning methods being implemented at six other universities across the country.
• For the 1.2 million Syrian refugees and about half that number in Jordan, the need for educational opportunity is particularly acute. In Lebanon, the British Council and the European Union are co-funding a project to help Syrian refugees both with their English and their ability to integrate better into the more pluralistic Lebanese society, entitled Accessing education: language integration for Syrian refugee children. In Jordan, the British Council is working to enhance capacity in all areas of English-language education, including in refugee camps.

Changing lives

Given the current turmoil across the MENA region, and given a large and growing youth population facing more competition for employment, the value of English language skills is clearly highlighted and the success of these and other similar programmes is vital. Nic Humphries, the British Council鈥檚 director of English in the MENA region, says, 鈥淩esearch shows there鈥檚 no doubt that 鈥�

There is no time to waste, both in terms of English language training and improved education in general for young people in the region. The World Bank reports that:

鈥淭he region鈥檚 youth population (up to 24 years old) will surge by about 10 million between 2015 and 2030. This sudden growth in the youth population will create increased demand for educational services at all levels and will place immense pressure on existing educational institutions. Clearly, the persistent, dual challenges of quality and relevance must be addressed before the anticipated surge. If they can, this rising tide of young people could become an engine of growth for the region.鈥�

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The elections were held on 25 June 2014, accompanied by violence and protest but also by the hope that the newly constituted House of Representatives will at last bring a functioning democracy to Libya, along with greater stability and security. 鈥�, a body that became riddled with controversy, political deadlock and the ideological battles that have raged since the historic election nearly two years ago,鈥� said a BBC report. 鈥淭hough many Libyans have grown wary of the politics since then, they have not quite given up on democracy yet. As one prospective voter put it, 鈥榃e will keep voting until we get the right people in.鈥欌��

The election results are still pending and the latest reports indicate that they will be announced next week on 20 July 2014.

Higher education in Libya

Against that backdrop, it can come as no surprise that Libya鈥檚 education system is also struggling to rebuild and to meet the demand of a youthful country where the median age is 24.5 years old. Among Libya鈥檚 highly urbanised population of 6.2 million people 鈥� the vast majority of which live in large cities in the North, Tripoli and Benghazi in particular 鈥� there are roughly half a million students enrolled in higher education.

There are 17 universities and more than a hundred technical and vocational institutions operating in Libya today. The majority of students, roughly 90% according to the British Council, are enrolled in public universities that are straining to meet the demand. 鈥�,鈥� says Inside Higher Ed. 鈥淚ts two largest institutions, the Universities of Tripoli and Benghazi, each have approximately 100,000 students, far more than they are designed for.鈥�

Nevertheless, the higher education system in Libya is under a great deal of pressure to not only accommodate today鈥檚 student demand, but to also help pave the way to a brighter future for coming generations. Many countries face pressing concerns with respect to graduate employability and look to their higher education institutions as important drivers of innovation and economic and social development. Such concerns, however, are ever more pressing for a country such as Libya that is struggling to find its feet after an extended period of turmoil and uncertainty.

A recent report from the British Council adds, 鈥淟ibya鈥檚 Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research is preparing a new law on higher education. It aims to restructure and consolidate Libya鈥檚 higher education provision, focusing on access, equity, diversity, and to build greater capacity for high-level research. A vital component will be to re-engage with the international community. By re-establishing links with other countries, Libya鈥檚 government hopes to develop its universities鈥� capacity, and to reinvigorate their critical role within the reconstruction of a secure, stable, and prosperous society.鈥�

There have been increasing calls in recent years for greater international support to help strengthen and expand Libya鈥檚 higher education system, for example:

• The British Council has helped to set up a network of 10 language training centres within Libyan universities.
• The US and Libya have set up a to strengthen Libya鈥檚 higher education capacity.
• Just last month, Canada hosted a delegation of Libyan officials for a week-long study tour exploring best practices in governance and leadership.

The very fluid situation in Libya is one of the biggest practical challenges in building more international linkages. Reporting from a recent education conference at the Libyan embassy in London, Al-Fanar notes, 鈥淏ritish organisations said the difficulty in working with Libyan institutions was in trying to figure out whom they were supposed to be working with. The past few years have seen Libyan institutions and personnel shift at a swift rate.鈥�

Government scholarship ups and downs

Another challenge is the country鈥檚 diminished capacity to provide foreign-language training to its students. 鈥淪tudy out of the country for undergraduates and those seeking master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees became more limited, since any such student needed a year of language training,鈥� adds Al-Fanar. The British Council language centres noted above were a step toward strengthening this capacity. So too was a new scholarship programme announced in 2013 and intended to support as many as 31,000 students in year-long, English-language training programmes abroad (plus another 10,000 students and faculty).

Government scholarships have been available to Libyan students for decades and, while detailed statistics are hard to come by, estimates put the current number of government-funded students abroad as high as 20,000, with the UK, the US, Canada, Egypt, and Malaysia among some of the most popular destinations.

(The total number of Libyan students abroad is no doubt higher still when self-funded students are factored in but, again, limited data and reporting is a challenge in tracking mobility closely.)

Historically, the Libyan scholarship programmes have been focused on graduate students but in recent years the programme has been expanded to support undergraduate studies abroad as well.

The scholarship programmes are reportedly politically popular within Libya, and it is possible that the new government resulting from June鈥檚 elections will feel some pressure to expand scholarships as part of its efforts to improve access to education for young Libyans. A recent item from Al-Fanar quotes Mohamed Alsllabi, the head of the student scholarship programme at the Libyan education ministry:

鈥淲e are under pressure from other public sectors to issue another decree to send 55,000 students to study abroad.鈥�

For the moment, instability and disruption at home is being reflected in the administration of scholarships for Libyan students abroad. There are regular reports of delayed or unpredictable transfers of funds to support travel, tuition, and monthly stipends for scholarship students. Al-Fanar reports on one such disruption affecting Libyan students in Canada and the US only last month:

鈥溾�橠ue to the financial constraints caused by the recent events in Libya, CBIE [Canadian Bureau for International Education] is unable to guarantee funding for any new students,鈥� said a 9 June 2014 press release from the CBIE, a nonprofit organisation that administers the scholarships for nearly 3,000 Libyan students in the United States and Canada. 鈥楴ew scholarship students nominated to study in the United States and Canada are therefore advised to postpone their travel plans.鈥欌�� A few weeks later, the Bureau announced that Tripoli had sent the money for June but would likely not send July funds on time.

鈥楾he reality is that there are sometimes slowdowns in the funding,鈥� said Jennifer Humphries, the Bureau鈥檚 vice president of communications. 鈥業t seems to relate to a very arduous and complex approval process. The government of Libya is in somewhat of a transition.鈥欌��

Such interruptions in programme administration naturally draw a lot of attention, as do Libya鈥檚 present-day security concerns and political challenges. Observers, however, are careful to point out that strengthening Libya鈥檚 education system for the future, and its international links, is a long-term proposition. It is an exercise in nation-building and one that requires vision, determination, and support from the international community. This is but one of the pressing challenges that will face Libya鈥檚 newly elected parliament starting this month, but also one that will bear heavily on the country鈥檚 fortunes and those of its people for the future.

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Last month, 22 Arab states, accounting for more than 500 universities among them, .

The STI aims to boost education and research in STEM fields by reforming and upgrading universities, improving science education, facilitating international and regional cooperation, boosting scientific research capacity, and increasing financial support for research and development.

In so doing, the STI aims to tackle a number of persistent challenges in Arabian higher education, including reversing a so-called 鈥渂rain drain鈥� from the region. Dr Sultan Abu-Orabi, secretary general of the Association of Arab Universities (AARU), frames the problem this way:

“The Arab world鈥� faces a host of hurdles when it comes to higher education and scientific research including a lack of clear focus in research priorities and strategies, insufficient time and funding to meet research goals, low awareness of the importance and impact of good scientific research, inadequate networking opportunities and databases, limited international collaborative efforts and brain drain.”

The strategy is a long-planned regional response to such issues and, more broadly, the need to better realise the potential of STEM fields for economic development. It was approved at the 14th Congress of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the Arab World, held in Saudi Arabia in March 2014.

It encourages Arab States to boost financial assistance for research and development from the current 0.3% of GDP to 3%, with 30-40% of the funding increment coming from the private sector.

The strategy places the focus on 鈥渘ational and pan-Arab higher education and research initiatives in about 14 priority areas,鈥� including agriculture, biotechnology, energy, environment, nanotechnology, space, and information technology. It will be supported by a new online platform for Arab science and technology featuring:

• a database of technological centres and universities;
• a portal for research;
• a directory of scientists, educationists; technologists, and policy-makers;
• science and technology indicators;
• development and innovation activities and projects;
• information on conferences, symposiums and workshops in the Arab region.

Tackling some long-standing issues

As we noted earlier, the STI is squarely aimed at a number of persistent challenges in higher education and research in the region. Chief among those is a concern that research in Arab institutions and research centres is not sufficiently serving the needs of either industry or society.

In a recent post on the science and development website SciDev.net, Moza Al-Rabban, general-director at the Arab Scientific Community Organization (), notes that while a staggering 30,000 research papers by Arab research centres are published annually, and 270,000 papers since 1993, most of these don鈥檛 鈥渉ave any impact on the development of Arab countries or the well-being of their people.鈥�

This disconnect between research and society (and the economy) is cited as a factor in high levels of unemployment in Morocco and Egypt. Students, according to Mahmoud Nasruddin, head of the Centre for Middle-Eastern Strategic Studies (), are chiefly concerned with obtaining a degree to increase their employability. He adds, 鈥淚f scientific research is not linked with development through applicable strategies and identified research priorities, there can be no expected impact, whatever the budget increase.鈥�

Dr Abdalla Alnajjar, chair of the Arab Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF), believes governments are crucial in the pursuit of private-public collaboration. Researchers are motivated to apply their full innovation and creativity skills if public research centres pay their staff a good rate for private sector work. However, Arab governments frequently impose additional taxes on publicly funded research centres that contribute services to the private sector, which can impede collaboration. Mr Alnajjar calls for the delivery of 鈥渋ncentives for researchers who provide services to the private sector and a change in the admission process for graduate students so that it becomes more controlled and takes into account society鈥檚 needs by setting clear priorities for the research they conduct.鈥�

The broader context of institutional collaboration in the region

The approval of the STI was accompanied, also in March, by among institutions of higher learning across the same 22 Arab states. Brought forward at the recent General Conference of the Association of Arab Universities (AARU) in Amman, Jordan, the unified governance proposals emphasise a clearer understanding of the responsibilities and roles of stakeholders in university governance reform in the context of global, national, and regional challenges.

The discussions in Amman suggest a broader interest in collaboration among Arab institutions, both for the sake of improved quality and efficiency and to improve the standing of Arab institutions in world university rankings. Hilmi Salem, a higher education consultant, believes the strategy will 鈥渉elp Arab universities to operate efficiently and be more responsive to the needs of young people, and become sources of knowledge and innovation.鈥�

Speaking to University World News, Martin Rose, country director for the British Council in Morocco, says, 鈥淭he agenda on university governance reform should include looking at greater autonomy and its benefits, developing university brands and competitive marketing to employers and students, and much greater calibration to the external environment in all its manifestations.鈥� Mr Rose highlights as well the need to establish alternate sources of funding for Arab higher education institutions, 鈥渨ithout which there is no hope of providing quality higher education to a fast-growing universe of young people leaving school and looking for higher education and jobs.鈥�

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Libya鈥檚 Deputy Minister of Education Bashir Eshteiwi announced a number of major initiatives at the in Amman, Jordan in May 2013. And as reported by World Education Services, these announcements were targeted at the Libyan education system’s hardships:

鈥淭o face its higher education challenges, Libya is developing information technology infrastructure to connect universities via a modern communications network and build virtual higher education that it hopes will rival the world’s most advanced applications.

To tackle overcrowding and poor teaching standards in the system, the government has said it will send thousands of promising students abroad to complete their studies.鈥�

Deputy Minister Eshteiwi鈥檚 announcement of expanded scholarship programmes for Libyan students has been elaborated in the months since and the following details by officials of the newly elected parliament, the General National Congress (GNC).

• LYD 3.28 billion (US $2.58 billion) in new scholarship funding will be made available to support a total of 41,000 additional students in their studies abroad. This represents a considerable expansion of both funding and participation over the 12,500 Libyan scholarship students currently engaged in studies abroad under a combined LYD $1 billion (US $785 million) budget.
• The new scholarship funding will support 31,000 students in year-long, English-language training programmes abroad in preparation for further academic studies at overseas institutions.
• The expanded scholarship programme will also support 5,692 students and 2,004 faculty who already hold masters degrees for advanced studies abroad, while a further 3,616 鈥渢op students鈥� at Libyan institutions will go overseas to complete their studies.

Skills training to tackle unemployment

In an interview with the Libya Herald, GNC member Abdulmonem Alyaser confirmed that these new education investments are targeted to help address the country鈥檚 considerable concerns over its high levels of unemployment and, by extension, its political and social stability.

鈥淕NC member Alyaser believes that the vexing problem of unemployment 鈥� and especially youth unemployment 鈥� was one of the root causes of the Arab Spring and Libyan revolutions. But he also believes that Libya鈥檚 militia, arms proliferation and security problems are equally interlinked with unemployment.

He therefore suggests that in order to help solve these problems, including Libya鈥檚 security problems, tens of thousands need to be trained.

鈥業f we want to put the security train on the right track, we must find fundamental and strategic solutions to the problem of unemployment. Unemployment is a problem that Libya has been suffering from for years and a problem that was one of the main drivers of the revolution.鈥欌��

Ministry of Labour statistics indicate that there are 340,000 unemployed in the country today, 56% of which are between 18 and 32 years of age.

Perhaps it is no surprise then that, beyond the significant expansions in government scholarship programmes, Libyan industry is also moving to support the country鈥檚 human resource development priorities. For the moment, this appears to be taking the form of targeted supports designed to provide training and skills upgrading to Libyan workers. For example:

• World Education Services notes: 鈥淭he National Oil Corporation recently told a delegation of UK English language providers that it had a training budget of US $50-60 million that represented a 鈥榞olden opportunity鈥� for providers.鈥�
• The British technical and vocational education association TVET UK signed an MOU with Libyan Board for Technical and Vocational Education (NBTVE) in April 2013. The MOU 鈥渁ims to facilitate partnerships and exchanges between Libya and UK national VET agencies in order to help build the necessary and appropriate industrial trades and technical skills capability and capacity for current and future social, economic and industry demands in Libya.鈥�

Coordinated international assistance needed

It also appears that the international community will have an important role to play in supporting the government鈥檚 reforms of higher education institutions in Libya, particularly with respect to improved use of technology to connect Libyan institutions and students as well as improved access to international markets for Libyan technology and innovation.

Speaking to , Amal Rhema, a Libyan higher education expert based at Victoria University in Melbourne, welcomed the new initiatives but noted: 鈥淭he availability and the use of ICTs, as well as the implementation of e-learning, in Libyan universities are still at quite an early stage.

Rhema added that the new government was demonstrating commitment to improving higher education. Aside from improving ICT infrastructure, it was planning to update curricula and train technologically skilled lecturers.

Libya would need 鈥榗oordinated international assistance鈥�, Rhema concluded. By assisting in the deployment of ICT and e-learning, the international community could provide the country with the opportunity to revitalise universities, modernise instructional methods and facilitate access to higher education.鈥�

Broad scope of opportunity

The country鈥檚 considerable need for international technology and commercial linkages – as well as for in-country training and skills upgrading for students, faculty, and employees – suggests a broad scope of opportunity for foreign language, VET, and higher education institutions in Libya for years to come.

This, along with its rapidly expanding government scholarship programmes, will now likely place Libya among the region鈥檚 most important international education markets.

For additional background on the challenges and opportunities shaping Libyan education today, please see our earlier post: 鈥�Libya making its way back onto the international education scene.鈥�

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The global private tutoring market, encompassing all educational levels as well as vocational and language schools, is already a multi-billion dollar industry, and according to estimates from Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (GIA), it will reach US $102.8 billion by the year 2018.

GIA鈥檚 “Private Tutoring: A Global Strategic Business Report” reveals that most of the tutoring market – about 90% – is centred in the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific (notably Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and China). South Korea alone will account for 15% of the global market by the end of 2012, reaching a value of US $13.9 billion. India is a leader in providing e-tutoring at affordable prices, particularly in the area of maths, with the US as the largest consumer of its services.

Reasons behind increased demand for tutoring services

According to GIA, the use of tutors has exploded in recent years due to the following factors:

• favorable demographics;
• the adoption of new technologies in various educational practices;
• rising student enrolments;
• intense competition among students;
• the need to excel in competitive exams, particularly in Asian countries;
• the inability of standard education systems to address the unique needs of each student;
• lack of teaching staff at schools;
• outdated school infrastructural facilities.

In a blog post for educationincrisis.net, Iveta Silova points out that much of the inability of school systems to effectively address students鈥� needs stems from the widespread slashing of school budgets. In addition, it has political elements, with free marketeers describing traditional education as a failure.

She explains: “Private tutoring is eating into what has been left of the impoverished public school curriculum itself. In some countries (for example, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Egypt, and Libya among many others), it is practically impossible to complete the state-mandated curricula without enlisting private tutoring services. In these countries, only part of the state curriculum is available during the official school hours – the rest of the state curriculum is being unofficially ‘sold’ through private tutoring lessons.

“Often, teachers offer private tutoring lessons to their own students after school hours on school grounds. While the reasons for such an irregular ‘merging’ of public schooling and private tutoring vary 鈥� ranging from insufficient school hours in Cambodia to an overloaded curriculum in Azerbaijan to low teacher salaries in many countries 鈥� the outcomes are the same. The complete public school curriculum is available only in combination with private tutoring, leaving behind many students who are unable to pay the full price for education.”

GIA further pointed out that “volatile economic conditions and budget cutbacks proved to be a blessing in disguise for the private tutoring industry. The sector remained relatively insulated amidst the economic upheavals, largely due to the enormous significance placed by society and parents on scholastic achievement that ensured steady growth even during the crisis period.”

Another reason the use of tutors is rising is because the technology revolution is currently reshaping the educational sector – as discussed on 黑料官网 Monitor in recent months. The e-tutoring piece of the global tutoring industry is estimated to be worth more than US $12 billion, and along with other types of distributed learning systems, is undergoing a rapid, tech-based expansion fuelled by demand for its convenient and inexpensive services.

Since today鈥檚 ambitious students often expect to use tutoring services, counsellors and recruiters may want to develop a firm knowledge of tutoring resources offered by schools, as well as those present in the community and online.

Examples of tutoring and tutoring-related services

All tutoring services promise great results, but the reality is that in a rapidly expanding and unregulated industry, effectiveness will vary. It鈥檚 easy to get a sense of which services are most effective simply by searching the Internet for user reviews. Below is a brief listing of some tutoring-related services, along with a note or two on each:

• Stizzil.com – this is an online tutoring company that promises officially licensed educators, and offers an interactive programme that records the tutoring, allowing students and teachers to review sessions.
• Tutor Vista – this online tutoring service, the largest in the world according to its website, is based in India and specialises in all levels of English, mathematics, and science, with most of its customers located in the US.
• – operating throughout North America, it claims to be the largest in-home tutoring service in the world, however many of the locations are franchises and quality varies.
• Home Tutors – based in the UK, Home Tutors has a postcode sortable database of more than 11,000 registered tutors.
• Eduboard.com – offers 30-minute online sessions, and 24/7 homework assistance with a guaranteed two-hour response time.
• – has logged over 8 million sessions and has a mobile app for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.
• – founded in 2002, the company specialises in math tutoring from elementary through high school, and is known for offering excellent test prep.
• – this is an online community built within Facebook that matches students with tutors. The tutors go through a certification process that is designed to ensure that the company employs only high quality teachers.
• – this company was formed in 1996, offers all levels of math and English tutoring, and employs only US-based teachers. The website has had over one million unique users and more than two million tutoring sessions.

GIA’s research report profiles some of the companies cited above, as well as other major players such as: A+ Tutoring, Building Educated Leaders For Life, Daekyo Co. Ltd., Educomp Solutions Ltd., Fleet Tutors, Huntington Learning Centers Inc., JEI Learning Centers, Kaplan Inc., Kids ‘R’ Kids International Inc., Kumon, Learn It Systems, LearningRx, Mathnasium LLC, Megastudy Co. Ltd., Rocket Learning Inc., Supreme Evaluations Inc., Sylvan Learning Inc., The Princeton Review Inc., Tutor Doctor, Tutoring Club Inc., and Woongjin Thinkbig Co., Ltd.

Volunteer sector and the tutoring industry

Looking at the industry from the opposite perspective, students can give rather than receive – which is to say, they can supplement their income by tutoring locally, or becoming an e-tutor. Some educational institutions also maintain peer tutoring programmes in which the students help other students and earn class credits.

Another area of the tutoring industry is volunteer tutoring. For example, the organisation Students Offering Support (SOS) uses tutoring to raise money for creating sustainable education projects in developing nations. According to its website, since 2004 over 2,000 SOS volunteers have tutored over 25,000 students and raised more than CDN $900,000 for various development projects across Latin America.

A similar organisation is Vatsalya, which is based in India and operates a distance education programme for disadvantaged children and young adults living in or around Jaipur. In all, Vatsalya has more than 600 volunteers from over 27 different countries across the globe, and also offers internships in human rights, developmental and international studies, social sciences, business, education and health services.

Future looks bright for tutoring industry

Right now, opportunities abound in the global tutoring field for students, teachers, educational institutions, tech firms, and business in general. The magazine and website Inc. listed tutoring as one of the top 16 industries worldwide for starting a new business, with a growth rate of 7% in the last year.

With millions of tech-savvy students entering higher education, and millions more making their way through strained school systems, the demand for individualised instruction is expected to increase for the foreseeable future. Educators, agents and service providers should consider how they are prepared to service that demand in the years to come.

The post Global tutoring industry experiencing explosive growth appeared first on 黑料官网 Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

Gaddafi鈥檚 41-year leadership prior to the civil war of 2011 made him one of the longest serving non-royal leaders in the world since 1900, as well as the longest-serving Arab leader. Despite his pledge that education was a 鈥渘atural right鈥� in Libya, according to Inside Higher Ed:

鈥淭he university system in Libya was, in the view of many Libyans, purposefully squandered for decades by Qadhafi鈥檚 regime. Salaries were low and resources for meaningful research scarce. The system was also used as a propaganda tool of the dictatorship.鈥�

In need of reform

At the September 2012 Conference in Dublin, 黑料官网 Monitor attended a session entitled 鈥淭he Arab Spring: implications for educational reform in Egypt and Libya.鈥� The session presenters noted that Qadhafi鈥檚 educational legacy, as it stands today, includes:

• Deep frustrations with the status quo
• A lack of key human and physical resources in the country鈥檚 higher education institutions
• High unemployment among graduates / some fields have an oversupply of graduates
• Not enough seats for many students
• Uneven access to education

They pointed to these areas of improvement if Libya is to achieve substantive education reform:

• Overall educational system
• Physical infrastructure
• Quality of education
• Teacher training and teacher quality
• Quality control at university level
• Curriculum redesign
• Perception and image – vocational studies are seen as something for the lower class
• Partnerships with private sector as well as institutions abroad

There is much to be done in Libya if it is to rehabilitate its educational system to the point where youth (60% of the country鈥檚 nearly 6 million-person population 鈥� the median age in Libya is 24.5 years) can find meaningful employment (unemployment now stands at a staggering 30%). But there are hopeful signs.

In a post on the entitled 鈥淏uilding the new Libya through international education,鈥� Mark Lazar wrote about his April 2012 trip to Libya to explore restarting scholarship programmes with the country, and noted:

鈥淢y colleagues at IIE and I were traveling with a delegation of business leaders looking to advance trade and business interests in the country, so I expected that education would take a backseat at most of our meetings. In reality, it turned out to be the exact opposite. Almost every Ministry that we met with spoke about the importance of sending students abroad for higher education.鈥�

Government-funded scholarships

With a population of just under 6 million, why might Libya鈥檚 interest in international education matter to international educators, beyond purely humanistic considerations? A recent article by makes it clear: Libya has 46.4 billion barrels in oil reserves. There will be funding for education, by the transitional government and the private sector, in such areas as joint degrees, scholarship programmes, and research partnerships.

Libya initially initiated foreign scholarships years ago in an attempt to put more Libyan scholars into lecturing positions in Libyan universities. With this goal, most Libyan students studied abroad at the master鈥檚 and doctoral levels overseas, then returned home to Libya to teach. Many Libyan students experienced difficulties during the civil war when international sanctions against Libya .

But since the transitional government has been running the country, scholarship programmes have begun again in earnest in countries including the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Moreover, there are now scholarships and exchanges at the undergraduate, language, research, and professional levels, too, geared to achieve a variety of outcomes. For example, if we look only at North America and the UK, there are:

• The UK鈥檚 Chevening Scholarships (graduate)
• The Libyan鈥揘orth American Scholarship Program (graduate and post-graduate)
• The LASF Unlocking Opportunity Scholarship (undergraduate and graduate)
• The Fulbright Foreign Student Scholarships for Libyan students (graduate)
• The ACYPL Professional Fellowship Program (professional)
• Tomorrow鈥檚 Leaders Scholarship Program in Libya (undergraduate)
• English Language Specialist (ESL) Programs in Libya (research)
• English Language Fellows (ELF) Programs in Libya (research)
• NOC Grants Scholarships to Outstanding Libyan University Students (graduate)
• International Achievement Scholarships at Sheffield Hallam University (undergraduate and post-graduate)
• (International Baccalaureate)
• The MEPI Student Leaders Program (undergraduate)
• Study of the United States Institutes for Secondary School Educators (mid-career)
• NESA Undergraduate Program (undergraduate)

for summaries of any of these scholarships and/or opportunities.

Recruitment agent perspective

Wanting to know the market from the perspective of a student recruitment agent based in Libya, 黑料官网 Monitor recently sat down with Dr. Abdusalam Nwesri, General Manager of Al-Tahaddi for Educational Services.

In his experience, the majority of his student clients go abroad for masters programmes via government scholarships, but this has been changing recently. More and more, parents are seeing the attractiveness of sending their children to study abroad for secondary school and undergraduate degrees, too.

One trend that remains stable is the demand for quality English language learning, with intensive English programmes (IEP) and pathway programmes offering great opportunities for providers.

Popular destinations include the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. A few will go to South Africa too, but in this market, safety is a main concern, especially for females. Germany is a popular choice amongst medical students because they can gain work experience in clinical practice. Malaysia is a growing destination due to its excellent support for families and quality schools for children, but it is still not as preferable as native English-speaking countries.

In the future, Dr Nwesri is optimistic that the government will increase the amount of money offered via government scholarships (he explained that the amount hasn’t increased in the last seven years, which is inconsistent with inflation). He is positive about new government, and the future of Libya’s education system.

One to watch

The Institute of International Education鈥檚 Mark Lazar concluded his article with this statement:

鈥淟ibya will be interesting to follow over the next several years, primarily because it will allow us to see the power of international education to facilitate change and development. Supporting scholarships, promoting research, developing vocational schools, expanding training opportunities and reestablishing international linkages are clear priorities of the government. The country has vast needs in these areas, and the government seems willing to commit them to the education of their population.鈥�

From our own research alone, we would concur that the will 鈥� and the funding 鈥� is certainly abundant enough to make Libya an interesting place to watch over the next few years. Opportunity awaits as the political and security situation stabilises, as does the challenge of strengthening the country鈥檚 education system for the future.

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