ISESCO Chief Calls for Raising Awareness about Dangers of Extremism
Dr Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri presided over the opening of a workshop on “Developing creativity for nation-building for university vice-chancellors in the Muslim world”, at ISESCO headquarters in Rabat on Monday.
In an address given on this occasion, he pointed out that higher education is based on four pillars: the teacher, the student, the curriculum and the administration, ISESCO reported.
“If these conditions are met, quality and effectiveness will be assured. Education will then be highly influential in the advancement of society and will actively contribute to its comprehensive sustainable development”, he said.
He also stated that if the three pillars (the teacher, the student and the curriculum) are interrelated, the fourth pillar (administration) is the firm basis of the educational system.
In this regard, Dr Altwaijri stressed that if the educational system has competent teachers, qualified students and sound curricula but lacks an active and efficient administration that is aware of the tasks entrusted to it, the educational process will be stifled and ineffective in achieving the desired educational goals. “If administration is the cornerstone of the higher education system, university vice-chancellors are a fundamental element of the university administration, for they are the link between the other elements that make up the educational process. The stronger and more flexible this link is, the more access to high levels of coordination, harmony, integration, effectiveness and feasibility can be achieved”, he went on saying.
In the same vein, Dr Altwaijri underlined that the role played by university vice-chancellors in the development of higher education in the Islamic world is highly important as they perform, under the supervision of university presidents, administrative and coordination functions that enhance the educational process. He also said that coordination between university vice-chancellors in various disciplines is an absolute necessity, while emphasizing that reinvigorating this role is an urgent need in order to raise the level of academic and professional performance of higher education, in pursuit of quality and accreditation of the universities of the Islamic world.
Moreover, Dr Altwaijri called on university vice-chancellors in the Islamic world to continue to ensure education that shapes the minds of young people in the universities, redresses their behavior, protects them from violence and extremism, and nurtures their sense of belonging to their homeland.
