President Ben Ali calls upon universities to change their mindsets, launch projects conducive to job creations and the promotion of free initiative.
Tunis , July 13, 2007 (TunisiaOnline) --On the occasion of the celebration of “Knowledge Day, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Ben Ali honored on Friday students, teachers, trainers and academics who distinguished themselves in their respective fields during the current academic year.
The Head of State also welcomed the presence of the Arab Ministers of Education, who are currently holding their extraordinary general conference in Tunis , thanking Mr Khaled Touqan, the President of the conference for “his kind words towards Tunisia and its leadership”.
He also expressed his gratitude to The Arab League Educational Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) for awarding him the Grand Shield of Educational Distinction, as well as to the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW) for awarding him its grand shield.
President Ben Ali thanked Dr Abdulaziz Altwaijri the Secretary General of the Federation and Director General of the Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), for his address.
On this occasion, ¨President Ben Ali delivered an address where he reaffirmed Tunisia 's commitment to place the sector of “training, education, higher education and scientific research in the forefront of our national priorities”. He also said that one third of the state budget had been earmarked for education, thus “offering education to some 3 million pupils and students from all social categories and generations”.
During his address, President Ben Ali announced some important measures destined to improve employment opportunities for the country's younger generations:
-Facilitating “access to modern knowledge and computer and communication technologies to all pupils, by allowing them to obtain a diploma in computer science and internet which the school will be committed to deliver in the basic and secondary cycles”.
- Consolidating the “open school for workers, the virtual school, and all the remote learning mechanisms” , so as to guarantee life-long learning.
- Establishing a national plan for “optimally upgrading higher education human resources for further improving the rates of training, research and supervision”.
- Optimizing "the mobilization of our human and material resources by integrating research laboratories within internal and international networks, as well as for establishing a plan to combine the efforts of research units and turn them into laboratories.”
-Setting up "ten centers for cultural, sports and leisure activities within university cities in the interior of the country”.
The Head of State further noted with satisfaction the implementation as of the coming academic year, of the new system of university diplomas dubbed “License Master, Doctorat (LMD) “which is in line with international standards and which constitutes a commendable progress in the process of higher education reform”.
He also pointed out that “the number of higher education branches had increased from 599 during 2005-2006 to 785 this year”, while the rate of graduates in the field of sciences currently amounts to 9,8% “which brings us closer to the objective we have set for 2009, namely achieving 11% for the 20-30 years old age bracket”, he said.
With a view of reinforcing the universities' contribution to consolidate Tunisia 's capacity to face world competition and serve its development projects, President Ben Ali exhorted “private promoters and investors to show further diligence and audacity in diversifying specialties, skills and technological branches in their enterprises”.
He also called on universities to step up efforts in order “to change the prevailing mindsets concerning the creation of economic businesses and the launch of projects to keep us up with the new world realities, by instilling initiative and creativity in the minds of students, exploring mechanisms to prepare graduates who are capable of undertaking free initiative and providing jobs”.
The Head of State concluded his address by expressing his “pride in the gains and results accomplished by our educational system, as well as of our country's skilled and competent human resources in all fields.”
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