2010-03-03
Disgruntled ULT owner claims 'political motives' but academic experts welcome suspension.
TUNIS - Despite attempts by its owner to present the sanctions against his private college as “politically motivated”, many academic experts in Tunis are arguing that the temporary suspension of the license of the “Université Libre de Tunis” (ULT) was necessary to preserve the credibility of Tunisia’s private higher education system.
An official inquiry into the management of the ULT University noted several violations including the absence of a full-time director, the hiring of teachers from the public university system without prior authorization from their employers, non-conformity of the syllabus with higher education requirements, and disregard of student eligibility criteria. The school was also found to have prevented a third year engineering student from taking his final exams.
After hearing ULT’s owner, the consultative commission in charge of granting university licenses, decided to appoint an administrator from the teaching-research profession to run the college for the remaining period of the academic year 2009-2010 and for the 3 following years. Other decisions include the suspension of the license of the ULT for a three-year period, withdrawal of the authorization granted to the ULT in all engineering specialties. The move prompted ULT’s owner, Mr. Bouebdelli to invoke alleged “political motives” for the closing of the institution. On February 11, ULT’s owner released a document where he argued that the whole case was aimed at undermining the status of the private college. Although the suspension of ULT’s license is not the first suspension of a private college in Tunisia, it is the first time however that the disgruntled owner of a suspended college claims administrative sanctions are “politically motivated”.
Also, because Mr. Bouebdelli is virtually “a political unknown,” academic experts are arguing that his move to “politicize” his case is most likely a last ditch attempt to avoid accepting responsibility for the violations noted by public inspectors.
What at stake for Tunisian higher education system is more than the individual case of the ULT college. The suspension of the license of the “Université Libre de Tunis” comes at a time when Tunisia is pushing for a nationwide international accreditation system for engineering studies. The country, which aims at training some 7000 engineers by 2012, want the quality of the training to be on a par with international criteria.
If there is one thing that Tunisian higher education decision makers will not tamper with, it is the level of the instruction provided to learners. “A country that has relied so heavily on education simply cannot afford to discredit the reputation of its university system be it private or public”, said Ahmed Béji, a Humanities professor.
For others, the ULT controversy has had at least the merit of opening the debate on the necessary upgrading of private university institutions in Tunisia. Even if embryonic, Tunisian authorities believe that a strong Tunisian private tertiary sector is necessary to boost the academic level and create a necessary emulation among institutions.
The challenges are many for public as well as private university institutions. The public university is submitted to the pressure of a massive student inflow : here are currently some 380.000 students enrolled in Tunisian universities and the number is expected to increase to 500.000 by 2012, before gradually decreasing. The overwhelming majority of Tunisian university students still graduate from the public system which still enjoys a high level of credibility and outperforms the private sector. There are only 20 private university institutions in Tunisia, and according to recent figures, enrollment there does not exceed 15.000 students. Private higher education institutions are confronted to problems related to funding, staffing and absence of public trust.
An important consideration for Tunisian authorities is the fact that a good percentage of private university students is made up of foreign students from sub-Saharan Africa. These students, Tunisian officials say, should be provided with an education that meets the requirements of educational quality and preserves the credibility of Tunisian academic institutions abroad.
There are signs however, that private universities are taking things seriously by establishing partnerships with major foreign universities, as shown by the forthcoming opening of a branch of the “Université Paris Dauphine” in Tunis. Other private university institutions are setting up joint MBA diplomas and training with prestigious American universities.
Another promising sign is the alignment of most private university institutions with the Ministry’s of Higher Education’s LMD system (License, Master’s, and Ph.D) in order to harmonize Tunisian curricula and diplomas with European and North American standards.
Academic experts are hopeful the task of upgrading the Tunisian university private sector so that it meets the criteria of quality and cost effectiveness, is a daunting one, but ultimately it will prove rewarding for both the public and private sectors. In the interim, they believe, “the easy ride” for some private institutions is probably over.
Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=37607.
Disgruntled ULT owner claims 'political motives' but academic experts welcome suspension.
TUNIS - Despite attempts by its owner to present the sanctions against his private college as “politically motivated”, many academic experts in Tunis are arguing that the temporary suspension of the license of the “Université Libre de Tunis” (ULT) was necessary to preserve the credibility of Tunisia’s private higher education system.
An official inquiry into the management of the ULT University noted several violations including the absence of a full-time director, the hiring of teachers from the public university system without prior authorization from their employers, non-conformity of the syllabus with higher education requirements, and disregard of student eligibility criteria. The school was also found to have prevented a third year engineering student from taking his final exams.
After hearing ULT’s owner, the consultative commission in charge of granting university licenses, decided to appoint an administrator from the teaching-research profession to run the college for the remaining period of the academic year 2009-2010 and for the 3 following years. Other decisions include the suspension of the license of the ULT for a three-year period, withdrawal of the authorization granted to the ULT in all engineering specialties. The move prompted ULT’s owner, Mr. Bouebdelli to invoke alleged “political motives” for the closing of the institution. On February 11, ULT’s owner released a document where he argued that the whole case was aimed at undermining the status of the private college. Although the suspension of ULT’s license is not the first suspension of a private college in Tunisia, it is the first time however that the disgruntled owner of a suspended college claims administrative sanctions are “politically motivated”.
Also, because Mr. Bouebdelli is virtually “a political unknown,” academic experts are arguing that his move to “politicize” his case is most likely a last ditch attempt to avoid accepting responsibility for the violations noted by public inspectors.
What at stake for Tunisian higher education system is more than the individual case of the ULT college. The suspension of the license of the “Université Libre de Tunis” comes at a time when Tunisia is pushing for a nationwide international accreditation system for engineering studies. The country, which aims at training some 7000 engineers by 2012, want the quality of the training to be on a par with international criteria.
If there is one thing that Tunisian higher education decision makers will not tamper with, it is the level of the instruction provided to learners. “A country that has relied so heavily on education simply cannot afford to discredit the reputation of its university system be it private or public”, said Ahmed Béji, a Humanities professor.
For others, the ULT controversy has had at least the merit of opening the debate on the necessary upgrading of private university institutions in Tunisia. Even if embryonic, Tunisian authorities believe that a strong Tunisian private tertiary sector is necessary to boost the academic level and create a necessary emulation among institutions.
The challenges are many for public as well as private university institutions. The public university is submitted to the pressure of a massive student inflow : here are currently some 380.000 students enrolled in Tunisian universities and the number is expected to increase to 500.000 by 2012, before gradually decreasing. The overwhelming majority of Tunisian university students still graduate from the public system which still enjoys a high level of credibility and outperforms the private sector. There are only 20 private university institutions in Tunisia, and according to recent figures, enrollment there does not exceed 15.000 students. Private higher education institutions are confronted to problems related to funding, staffing and absence of public trust.
An important consideration for Tunisian authorities is the fact that a good percentage of private university students is made up of foreign students from sub-Saharan Africa. These students, Tunisian officials say, should be provided with an education that meets the requirements of educational quality and preserves the credibility of Tunisian academic institutions abroad.
There are signs however, that private universities are taking things seriously by establishing partnerships with major foreign universities, as shown by the forthcoming opening of a branch of the “Université Paris Dauphine” in Tunis. Other private university institutions are setting up joint MBA diplomas and training with prestigious American universities.
Another promising sign is the alignment of most private university institutions with the Ministry’s of Higher Education’s LMD system (License, Master’s, and Ph.D) in order to harmonize Tunisian curricula and diplomas with European and North American standards.
Academic experts are hopeful the task of upgrading the Tunisian university private sector so that it meets the criteria of quality and cost effectiveness, is a daunting one, but ultimately it will prove rewarding for both the public and private sectors. In the interim, they believe, “the easy ride” for some private institutions is probably over.
Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=37607.
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