Doha, November 02 (QNA) - The Fifth UNESCO Conference on Higher Education in the Arab States kicked off in Doha on Monday.

Organized by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE) in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, the two-day conference is being held under the theme "The New Learning Landscape in Higher Education in the Arab Region".

The opening session was attended by HE Minister of Education and Higher Education Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater, HE Chairperson of the UNESCO Executive Board and Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to UNESCO Dr. Nasser Bin Hamad Al Hinzab, and HE Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for the Gulf States and Yemen in Doha Salah Khaled, alongside a contingent of academics, experts, decision-makers and representatives of universities, as well as regional and international organizations.

HE the Minister of Education and Higher Education stressed that the future of higher education in the Arab region hinges on stronger cooperation among universities and academic institutions and concerted efforts to tackle current and emerging challenges, particularly ensuring continuity of education in conflict zones, leveraging artificial intelligence, and safeguarding the Arabic language in knowledge production.

She noted that Arab universities have made substantial progress over the past two decades in expanding access to higher education, developing academic and research institutions, and advancing gender parity, remarking that women now account for 52 percent of undergraduate students and 57 percent of master's students across the Arab region, while their representation in academic bodies has risen from 32 percent in 2000 to 44 percent today.

HE the Minister said, however, that this progress doesn't erase persistent disparities among Arab universities, which continue to grapple with funding constraints, retaining talent and disruptions to education in several Arab countries, foremost among them Palestine, Sudan, Yemen and Syria.

UNESCO estimates indicate that 95 percent of university campuses in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or damaged, including 22 universities that have been completely destroyed. In Sudan, 124 universities and technical institutions have also been destroyed or damaged, Her Excellency revealed.

Protecting the region's scientific and knowledge assets is a shared Arab responsibility, she said, calling for opportunities for affected students to complete their studies, support for researchers, and partnerships to ensure continuity in education and scientific research.

On technological transformations, HE the Minister said AI is directly reshaping the core mission of universities, from knowledge production and assessment to determining the skills graduates need. A UNESCO survey found that only 19 percent of the higher education institutions surveyed had adopted formal AI policies, she noted.

She urged Arab universities to help establish governance frameworks for these technologies and revamp assessment methods to strengthen students' analytical, critical-thinking and creative abilities, while entrenching authentic learning.

Her Excellency also underscored the importance of bolstering the Arabic language's presence in developing emerging technologies, praising Fanar, a model developed by the Qatar Computing Research Institute at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). She called on academic institutions to adopt and help develop Arabic language models, turning them into a joint Arab project.

Her Excellency also highlighted that the revised Arab Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Certificates and Diplomas in Higher Education entered into force last April, following its ratification by five countries, including the State of Qatar. She announced that Doha will host the first meeting of the Convention's regional committee and urged the remaining Arab states to join it.

Achieving the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4), which seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all, requires protecting affected students' right to education, strengthening mutual recognition of qualifications, and expanding opportunities for students and researchers to move between Arab countries, HE the Minister stressed.

Finally, HE the Minister underlined the importance of the conference deliberations in shaping shared Arab priorities for the post-2030 era, centered on protecting, producing and making knowledge accessible.

She stressed that the goal is not to make Arab universities alike, but to strengthen their complementarity, unlocking broader prospects for students and researchers across the Arab world. (QNA)