KUWAIT CITY, Jan 20: Efforts to improve the educational standard in the Arab world have led to a remarkable increase in the unemployment rate, instead of reducing it due to the imbalance between the educational system and the job market, according to a report released recently by the Arab Planning Institute (API) entitled “Tough Solutions for Unemployment in Arab Countries”.
In the recently-concluded discussion meeting at the institute’s headquarters in Kuwait, API Consultant Dr Hussein Al-Talafiha, who prepared the report, pointed out the rising unemployment rate among the educated people is one of the major challenges in the Arab region because, in principle, literacy rate is inversely proportional to unemployment.
Al-Talafiha contended the educational sector in the region has undergone significant changes both in quality and quantity; thus, it is imperative that the policy-makers cope with the changes by generating jobs to the growing population of Arab graduates. He suggested the best way to address the unemployment problem is to review the educational infrastructure in accordance with the global job demand by setting up policies that support investments in higher education.
Meanwhile, API Managing Director Dr Badar Mallullah observed there is no consistency between expertise and adequacy produced by education and learning systems, which should correspond to the actual demand in the job market. He called for flexibility to curb the unemployment rate among the educated people.