Recent Issues

Education and Scientific Development in the OIC Member Countries 2016 (18 November 2016) Education and Scientific Development in the OIC Member Countries 2014 (19 December 2014) Education and Scientific Development in the OIC Member Countries 2012/2013 (17 December 2012) Education and Scientific Development in OIC Member Countries (19 October 2010) Education: Prospects and Challenges in the OIC Member Countries (18 October 2008)

Introduction

Education is one of the most important investments a country can make in its people and its future. It is the core of human capital formation and central to the development of a society. Investment in education and quality research at various national institutions are vital in achieving higher economic growth and reducing poverty and inequality. Quality education generates benefits to the society that go beyond the gains secured by the individuals involved. Similarly, research in science and technology is of great importance and a key to progress towards a knowledge-based and innovation-driven economy. It promotes better understanding of different aspects of life and helps to improve the standard of living by generating new knowledge and technological innovation. Today’s, fast-advancing digital technology is generating new skill demands and lifelong learning needs, thus creating additional challenges to both national education systems and individuals. To address these challenges, the OIC-2025 Programme of Action aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels and promote life-long learning opportunities that advance knowledge and skills needed for gainful employment, entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainable development”. So far, OIC countries held eight sessions of the Islamic Conference of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research (ICMHESR) to address the educational and scientific development related issues and challenges across the Islamic world. The SESRIC regularly prepares a report on the ‘Education and Scientific Development in the OIC Member Countries’ primarily for the ICMHESR. The report analyses and examines the trends in the major indicators in the field of educational and scientific developments in the OIC member countries. It investigates these trends in a comparative manner with their counterparts in the group of developed countries, non-OIC developing countries as well as the world as a whole. In so doing, the report highlights a number of constraints and challenges confronting the member countries in their efforts to foster their educational and scientific development.