Conference 10: "Evaluating and Developing General Examinations in the Arab World", Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, December 2016

Conference 10: "Evaluating and Developing General Examinations in the Arab World", Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, December 2016

The tenth (10th) Conference of Ministers of Education in the Arab World, hosted by the Kingdom of Jordan, discussed the issue of "Evaluating and Developing Public Examinations in the Arab World," on the basis of a main study submitted to the conference and prepared by ALECSO, which set out from a diagnosis of the reality of the educational evaluation process and concluded by presenting proposals for its development so that educational evaluation may respond to the challenges of the coming stage and the aspirations of its educational institutions. The document consisted of four parts:

• Part One: The main problems and concepts of examination systems and educational evaluation.
• Part Two: The reality of examinations and evaluation in the Arab states.
• Part Three: Global experiences in the field of examinations and educational evaluation.
• Part Four: The proposed vision for developing examinations and educational evaluation systems in the Arab world.

A report was also submitted to the conference on "The Development of Education in the Arab States 1998-2014," in implementation of a recommendation of the conference at its ninth session, which called on ALECSO to prepare a report on the extent of the progress of education in the Arab states from the first conference in 1998 to the ninth conference in 2014, with the aim of identifying the achievements made by the Arab states in light of the recommendations issued by the nine conferences and within the framework of the six main areas of work agreed upon internationally, namely: early childhood care and protection, youth and adult competencies, adult literacy, secondary education, and the quality of education.

The Director-General of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization presented a report on the efforts of the Arab states and ALECSO to implement the recommendations addressed to them,

The conference issued a resolution to form a ministerial committee to prepare a study on the reality of public education in the Arab world and ways to develop it, along with two recommendations addressed to the Arab states, three addressed to the Organization, and three others concerning the promotion of the dissemination and teaching of the Arabic language in the Republic of Chad. At the end of its work, the conference approved the following:

First: Recommendations addressed to the Arab states:

1. Working to modernize educational evaluation and examination systems in terms of: diversifying the forms of evaluation and providing multiple opportunities to sit the examination, in a manner suited to the circumstances of each state and achieving what the study recommended.
2. Allocating a percentage of between 20-30% of the secondary-school average, with the remaining percentage given to the achievement and aptitude test for equivalency purposes, or for submission to universities, or for obtaining scholarships; this applies to public, private, and international schools.
3. Taking the necessary measures to reorganize the educational stages in terms of: the Arab qualifications framework, criteria for the equivalency of certificates, defining the knowledge and skills to be acquired by the end of each stage, and amending legislation, so as to facilitate the movement of Arab students between states.
4. Enacting legislation and taking the necessary measures to attract endowments (awqaf) in the field of financing, expanding, and developing Arab education.
5. Providing support and assistance for the education of children in Arab states suffering from crises, with special attention given to education in Palestine.

Second: Recommendations addressed to the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization:

Calling upon the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization to:

1. Coordinate among the centres, institutions, and bodies concerned with evaluation and examinations to establish mechanisms capable of activating the recommendations of the study "Evaluating and Developing Public Examinations in the Arab World," in a way that ensures their activation and their independence from ministries of education.
2. Renew the call for the swift completion of granting a licence to practise the teaching profession, in a way that ensures the professionalization of the Arab teacher and their career growth, and hold a forum for officials in the Arab states to coordinate on this matter.
3. Coordinate with the Islamic Development Bank to benefit from the "Education for Competitiveness" initiative, which it launched in partnership with the World Bank to develop education in the Arab world, given that the Organization is the party concerned with this.
4. Hold a conference concerned with the education of people with special needs in the Arab world.
5. Call upon the Director-General to survey the opinions of the states regarding holding a conference of ministers of education and ministers of higher education to discuss common issues, starting from the next session.

Third: Joint recommendations:

1. Calling upon the Islamic Development Bank, the World Bank, and banking and financial institutions to provide grants and concessional loans for the benefit of education.
2. Calling upon the Arab states, regional and international organizations, and development banks (the Islamic Development Bank and the World Bank) to support the education sector in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, as well as to support the Arab host states of refugees in order to mitigate the impact of this on their educational process.

Fourth: Resolutions:

1. Adopting the study prepared by the ministerial committee on the subject of "The Reality of Public Education in the Arab World and Ways to Develop It," with the parties concerned in the ministries of education in the Arab states implementing and applying its contents in a manner suited to their circumstances and capabilities.
2. Calling upon the Organization to hold specialized workshops examining how to implement the recommendations and to submit their views to the Arab ministers of education.