Education in the Middle East and North Africa is neither unified nor uniform. The three educational systems that run in parallel are government-provided, private and religious. Although international human rights are not guaranteed in many national constitutions, free education is. The heritage of education as a public responsibility is reflected in the constitutions and laws of Middle Eastern countries.

However over the last 20 years, government-provided education has changed, with costs being transferred to families. Definitions of “free” public education and ways to translate that guarantee into practice, vary from government to government. “Free” education can consist of the government covering teachers’ salaries but having parents to assume the costs of books, transportation, resources, tutoring or uniforms.

Excessive military expenditure by North African and Middle Eastern governments is a parallel concern. The report also highlights the fact that the region’s statistics are either scarce or non existent with respect to monies invested in education as well as in military spending.  Does it mean that public investment is embarrassingly low while military spending is appallingly high? This section of the report attempts to shed some light on this issue.

Free education in the law and practice in
Middle East and North Africa