Raising the Quality, Relevance and Efficiency of Teaching/Learning and Training' at Palestinian Higher Education Institutions.

Raising the Quality, Relevance and Efficiency of Teaching/Learning and Training' at Palestinian Higher Education Institutions.

Zajel / An-Najah National University Conference on: The Role of Higher Education in the Context of an Independent Palestinian State 7-9 Nov.1996    Chairperson: Professor Vincent Hanssens, Secretary General, International Federation of Catholic Universities Main Speaker: Professor Afnan Darwazeh, An-Najah National University Rapporteur: Professor Louis Lemkow, Vice Rector, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona The workshop was attended by forty five participants, with well over 30 interventions. The main speaker presented a comprehensive paper which concluded with a set of concrete proposals. An additional list of recommendations came from the floor. Quality in the university context is a broad and complex concept, not easy to define. The participants agreed, however, that, any attempt to assure quality in higher education requires an examination of the ways and means to raise the efficiency of the institutional system as a whole, with particular reference to the following elements: goals, contents and curricula, delivery systems, management, and evaluation. It was, of course, stressed that availability of funds for concrete projects and programs was fundamental to any notion of raising quality. Financing will certainly play a critical role for the future of the Palestinian universities. Some background statistical data was given on the Palestinian universities: student and staff numbers, qualifications of academic staff, student drop-out rates, (there was some disagreement over the interpretation of this data), libraries, computing facilities, etc. Assessment of needs was discussed at length, both by the main speaker and by the participants, who emphasized that it represented the key to improving quality, efficiency and relevance of teaching/learning and training. Also much discussion was devoted to the issue of training programs for staff on "how to teach" as well as on "what. to teach". Training of academics in how to use new technologies, and knowledge of new management systems was highlighted. There was a broad consensus that management systems should be democratic and strong attention should be given to achieving relations of trust between the different components of the university system: academics, students and administrative staff. Evaluation of both students and academics was debated, with a significant divergence of views. It was pointed out that the lack of freedom of movement in Palestine and the closure of universities, as a result of Israeli policies, represented a considerable burden and difficulty for the normal and efficient functioning of the higher education system. There was an important role for foreign universities and academics in raising the Palestinian human rights issues in their own countries and in demanding the observance of academic freedom and institutional autonomy for the Palestinian universities.