October 2002 2002 - 2007 IN TUNISIA · 2002 - 2007 October 2002. I- Strategic Framework for the...

The Republic Of TunisiaMinistry of Education and Training

THE NEW EDUCATION REFORMIN TUNISIA :

AN EDUCATION STRATEGY FOR THE FUTURE

2002 - 2007

October 2002

I- Strategic Framework for the Education Reform 7

I- 1. Education in Tunisia and in the world today 9

● The major school reforms since the Independance

● A new historic phase

● The shools and the needs for change

I- 2. Tunisian schools : achievements and issues 15

● Tunisia as an ‘educational society’

● Low performance of education institutions

● Importance of quality in the curriculum

● Quality of learning

● Centralization of management

● Lack of professionalism

● Lack of an ‘evaluation culture

I- 3. New challenges

I- 4. New requirements for Tunisian schools 23

● First : Developing well-made not well-filled brains

● Second : Mastering new technologies

● Third : Preparing children and youth for active life

● Fourth : Ensuring quality education for all

● Fifth : Regional and global integration through learning

● Sixth: Promoting initiative

● Seventh: Setting standards for professionalism

II- Tunisia’s Education System Today 31

II- 1. General structure 34

II- 2. Orientations and streams 36

II- 3. School timing 37

II- 4. Curricula 38

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Contents

IV- 4-2 Improving school life in high schools

IV- 4-3 Improving school life in primary schools

IV- 5- Supporting equal opportunity and equity between

regions and schools 89

IV- 5-1 Priority schools program

IV- 5-2 Introduction of pre-shool education

IV- 5-3 Children with special needs

IV- 6-Modernizing the education system to improve its performance and

capacity to meet society’s needs 90

V- Execution Stages of the Strategy : 93

V- 1 - Short-term: September 2002 95

V-2 - Medium-term: September 2003 96

V-3 - Long-term: 2002- 2007 97

Enclosure : 103

● Table 1: Comparative data on the structure of the education system

● Table 2: Annual allocation of time (age 7)




● Table 6: Distribution of Bac degree holders according to formation fields

● Table 7: Percentage of time allocated to the teaching of

Mathematics in the 1999 TIMSS-R group

● Table 8: Percentage of the timing allocated to the teaching of Sciences

in the 1999 TIMSS-R group

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III- Evaluations since 1992 41

III- 1. Internal evaluations 43

III- 2. External evaluations 44

III- 3. International comparative evaluations 45

III- 4. Results and conclusions 46

IV- Major Directions of the Education Reform 49

IV- 1. Placing the student at the center of the education process 52

IV- 1-1. developing curricula and the teaching strategies

IV- 1-2. promoting arts and cultural activities

IV- 1-3. reviewing the school timetable in Basic Education

IV- 1-4. introducing optional learning in the second cycle

of Basic Education

IV- 1-5. new learning options in secondary education

IV- 1-6. setting up a system for periodic evaluation

IV- 2- Media and communication technologies in teaching

and learning 73

IV- 2-1. Integrating information and communication technologies

in teaching and learning

IV- 2-2. Teacher training

IV- 2-3. Equipment

IV- 2-4. Establishing an education network

IV- 2-5 Distance teaching and training

IV- 2-6 Development of virtual units and education software

IV- 2-7 Establishing an education data system

IV- 3- Supporting professionalism in teaching 82

IV- 3-1 Pre-service training

IV- 3-2 In-service training

IV- 4- School as the basic unit in system 85

IV- 4-1 School improvement projects

an education strategy for the future 2002 /20074

STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK OF THENEW SCHOOL REFORM

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I - STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK OF THE NEWSCHOOL REFORM

I- 1. Education in Tunisia and in the World Today

Very early on, Tunisia has realized that a democraticschool ensuring to its younger generations a trainingconsonant with the demands and needs of a society thataspires to progress and is resolutely open onto modernitywas the key of the edification of its future. Tunisia has the-refore from the first years of independence, put edu-cation foremost among its preoccupations, making it anabsolute priority and devoting to it the better part of itsresources, which has it distinguished it in itsgeo-cultural sphere, at the continental and eveninternational levels. This constitutes a source ofpride for all Tunisians, even as, thanks toeducation, our country has achieved remarkableprogress in all fields of economic and social life.

● The major school reforms since theIndependence

It all began in 1958 with a first major reform that,without denying the legacy of a long tradition goingfar back into Tunisia history , has laid thefoundations for a national educational system that

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revealed, in the light of the modest students performance,the persistent weakness of the system’s efficiency andpayoff as well as the important gap between therequirement (objectives set by the reform) and results atthe level of the classroom.

Externally, profound and rapid mutations have upsetour world vision and affected all the fields of social andindividual life. These mutations require a rapid adaptationof production and work systems, and therefore they posea serious challenge to school, which has to imperativelyreconsider its objectives, methods and means, if it wantsto go on fashioning students’ profiles consonant with moreand more stringent demands of society.

● A new historic phase

Everything indicates that humanity is on the verge ofentering a new phase of its history. The technological andscientific revolution has brought about vast changes thatsurprise us by the swiftnessof their dissemination andtheir direct impact on all theconstituents of individual,social and public life.

Conscious of the newchallenges posed by thishistoric evolution, most of thenations are preparingthemselves by granting theirpolicies top priority to

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is coherent andmodern, and amongwhose chief objectivesis the double mission ofopening up school,which had been for aprivileged minority (14per cent) to all theTunisians, regardless ofsex, race or religion,and of trainingexpeditiously the cadrethat the ongoing state-building urgently needs.

Then came the 1989 reform, consecrated by theAct of 19 July 1991, which aimed at adapting schoolto the profound changes in the economic andsocial structures of the country as well as themutations in mentalities of the citizens thanks,precisely to the education for all policy initiated in1958. This reform redefined the finalities andmissions of school, instituted compulsory and freebasic schooling, and restructured secondaryeducation, in a manner that makes Tunisianeducation resolutely turned towards the future.

As soon as this reform was in place, the Tunisianeducational system had to face new challenges,both internal and external. Internally, evaluationsundertaken from 1995, and which are confirmed byother ones and international comparisons have


future of schools will be one of the most important fields ofcompetition between nations that are striving to take thelead in a world without frontiers full of economic andcultural challenges linked to globalisation. This willinevitably bring about major differences betweeneducational systems that until recently had fairly similarobjectives and strategies.

● The school and the needs for change

There is no place in today’s ever-changing world for a“static” or stereotyped educational system. Likewise, thereis no future for schools that shun innovation and prefer toadopt a status quo posture.

The issues posed by an increasingly complex world,one in which all that used to be taken for granted is nowobsolete, require continual educational “state ofawareness” and an ongoing reflection about the ways toupdate schools and their work tools.This is all the more true that, as globalisation speeds upfrantically, nations realise that, however developed theymay be, they remain, as an expert in education has said,“developing societies”, in educational matters. Theyconstantly need to conceive improvements in theireducational systems to adapt themselves to the constant

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education and training. Thus, all countries are notundertaking profound revisions of their educationalsystems.

Hence, the abundance of the observatories,international evaluations and devices of comparisonbetween the various educational systems so as tospot the most convincing experiences in the fieldand to profit from them.

Calculating the extent of these challenges andknowing the importance of the stakes in this field,the President of the Republic has anticipated thedifficulties that would inevitably arise, by givinginstructions, since 1995, ‘‘to start a deep andorderly reflection on the issue of the renewedmission of the school

(…) in a world bound to witness deep changesaffecting the structure of society and knowledge, themethods of work and themeans of production sothat we ensure the bestpreparation for ourfuture.”

This approach is allthe more pertinent thatall the observers assert,on the basis ofconcordant indices, (allindices show) that the


contributing to Tunisia’scultural and socia developmentand serving as a strongleverage to its economy.

These requirements havemade it vital to upgrade theeducational system at alllevels : institutional, pedagogical,human and physical. Despitethe important progressachieved since independence,our educational system stillfaces various problemsnamely those related toits efficiency which arechallanges to be imperativelyanswered.

I- 2. The Tunisian School : Assets and Problems

● Tunisia : an “Educational” Society

During the four previous decades, the Tunisian systemof education has accomplished outstanding results bothquantitatively and qualitatively. “Education for all”, anobjective set by UNESCO for most countries of the worldto be attained by the year 2015 has become a Tunisianreality. In addition to the full-schooling of children, a

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internal and external changes affecting theirenvironment.

Tomorrow’s world needs people who are able toanalyse new and complex situations, interpret andsynthesise contradictory data and come up withoriginal solutions or alternatives for unexpectedissues and problems. This requires skills and“qualities” that need to be developed at an early ageand preserved and maintained throughout life.

These skills should be included in the variouscurricula, and the appropriate ways of achieving thisshould be devised. Learning is meaningless unlessit relates to the requirements of society. Theargument that schools are unable to predict futureprofessions or anticipate external change is notvalid: schools do not prepare people for specificposts, or train them for steady, definite professions,but cram them with a mass of knowledge.

Schools must now give the students the ability tomaster the tools of knowledge and prepare them forthe acquisition of the skills and abilities necessary inlife. Schools will be required - now and in the future- to teach people how to learn, to work, to be, and tolive with other people.

Thus, the Tunisian school is more than everrequired to play its fundamental roles by providingopportunities of growth to the individual’s potentials,


age possible. As a result, the schooling rate both at thesecondary and university levels has developedremarkably.

➤ The implementation of absolute equality among thesexes, and, in general, among all Tunisians to whomschooling has become the best means to achievesocial promotion. A fair girls to boys ratio at all levels ofeducation has become a reality. Recently, the numberof girls has exceeded that of boys at the secondary anduniversity levels. This major thrust in the exercise of therights given to women on the eve of independence hashad considerable impact on social and family life andon the cultural level of the population.

➤ The training of a highly-qualified personnel in all fields :this has helped attain self-sufficiency in humanresources and stop relying on foreign “coopérants”towards the end of the 70’s. Better still, many Tunisiansare currently working as “coopérants” in variouscountries.

Yet, in order for them to last, these assets need to bemaintained so that they form a sound foundation to aqualitative change both in our educational system andin our society. Besides, however important theaccomplished progress is, we can not forget theproblems we are confronted with and which areessentially the direct consequence of the rapiddevelopment of the educational system and themassification phenomenon which has resulted from it.

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voluntary policy to promote adult education andin-service training has served to increase literacyand to pave the way to a “lifelong education”.

Among the numerous assets of the Tunisianeducational system, three are particularlynoticeable :

➤ The gradual transformation of the Tunisiansociety into a genuine “educational society”. Afterthe primary schooling “boom” of the 60’s duringwhich period each hamlet and town districtwanted its “own” school, came the expansion ofsecondary education, accelerating during the lastdecade to the point that even the most remotevillages have had their preparatory school andoften their secondary school built.

Today, it’s time for the university level institutionsto proliferate in all regions. Rarely would you finda governorate that does not have a faculty,a college or a technological institute.

The “full-schooling” objective which had alreadybeen attained at the primary level is beingachieved for the whole period of basic education.This is due to the measures taken to ensure freeschooling and the strict application of the 6-to-16year old compulsory education rule. Parallel tothis, different other measures have been taken topush the schooling of students to the maximum


level of the educational practices leads to a linear approachwhere synthesis is reduced to a minimum. Thus there isan accumulation of fragmented objectives and learningactivities without any complementarities. Added to this, theitemization of subjects and the division of the samesubject into different fields of activities lead inevitablyto the partition of learning and the atomization ofknowledge. We should not be surprised, then, that thelearners’ performance is far below what was expectedwhen the reform came into being in 1991.

◆ The weakness of the students’ acquisition The selectivity that characterizes our educational

system does not necessarily ensure a perfect training forstudents. Indeed, most of them have obvious weaknessesin languages and mathematics. They have difficulties incommunicating, writing and problem-solving.

A variety of internal and external evaluations havepinpointed this fact. Generally speaking, they have all ledto the following three conclusions:

➤ Many students are placed, from the start, in a situationthat would lead to failure because we do not makethem acquire the knowledge and the skills essential forfuture studies. For different reasons, many primaryschool teachers seem not to attach the warrantedimportance to the fundamental skills (reading, writing,calculating). It has been proved that if a student doesnot master these skills right from the start, his future atschool is irreversibly compromised.

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● Problems to be solved

◆ The weakness of the school output Despite the continuous improvement in the rates

of intra and inter-cycles promotion and theconsecutive decrease in school failure and dropoutrates, many students still give up their studiesespecially at the level of the second cycle ofbasic education without acquiring the minimalcompetences required to integrate in the society.

◆ The predominance of the quantitative aspectin curriculaPrograms are overloaded with subjects and there

is a clear propensity for “encyclopedism”; thespecific objectives and the cognitive contents are sonumerous that it is hard to distinguish between whatis fundamental and what is secondary or incidental.

The predominance of the quantitative trend at the


◆ The excessive centralization of the educational system managementThe centralization that characterizes our educational

system, legacy of a double administrative culture(Ottoman and French), has amplified central prerogatives,and reduced in the same proportions, the authority of theregional administrations and schools. The sense of initiativehas collapsed; innovation has become rare; the respect ofprocedures and instructions is considered an end in itself;in a way that the search for alternatives and solutions toimprove the existing situation has stopped.

◆ The lack of professionalism The improvement of the output of the educational

system is tributary of the existence of highly qualifiedhuman resources at all levels: teaching staff, administrativestaff, pedagogical assistance staff ... Teaching and schoolmanagement require, today, in addition to motivation, ahigh degree of professionalism; which is unfortunatelylacking at present because educators have received nospecific training.

◆ The absence of an evaluation culture A received idea – and a widespread one – stipulates

that selection constitutes the unique guarantee of thequality of teaching and of the upholding of the standardsand the degree value. This idea causes many teachers toconcentrate their efforts on the “good” students, to thedetriment of those in need of more attention. Thus, thesestudents are progressively marginalized and findthemselves bound to failure and exclusion.

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A number of students show incompetence indealing with real life situations outside the schoolcontext. Even when they have acquired all therequired knowledge, and the necessary skills,they do not usually know how to use them inpractical situations : problem solving and/orlinguistic performance. This is usually explainedby the fact that they were rarely trained to solvereal problems and to produce authentic texts in awell defined communication context.

An analysis of students’ papers in different examshas revealed a serious deviation in our educationalsystem from the second cycle of basic school touniversity: fundamental learning (e.g. masteringthe language) is occulted while non-essentiallearning (e.g. learning rules, procedures,algorithm) has become the ultimate goal of oureducational system.

Result : the students acquire a great deal ofknowledge, often useless, in very numerousdisciplines, “that they manage to restore more orless correctly in tests centered on the control ofknowledge, but that they don't know how to usewhen they are asked to produce a text, to make asynthesis, to solve a problem, to express andto justify a point of view ... And because it is notused, this knowledge ends up being forgotten. Thisresults in a paradoxical situation: many studentshave “neither well-made nor well-filled minds.”


I- 3. New requirements for Tunisian schools

These challenges place the Tunisian schools beforenew and unprecedented requirements that they mustinevitably meet.

● First Requirement : Developing well-made notwell-filled brains

In an era when the volume of knowledge doubles everyfifteen years and its sources multiply, the school is losingground as it competes with myriad other sources ofknowledge. It would be erroneous, even dangerous, tocontinue to inculcate in students a knowledge in a rangeof subjects through memorization and the mechanicalapplication of rules rather than developing competenciesfor analysis, synthesis and problem-solving.

To reach this goal, we first must clearly define whatschools are supposed to teach. This requiresepistemological thinking about the types of knowledge tobe included in school curricula. The participation ofvarious partners such as universities and representativesof schools’ ‘clients’ (e.g. vocational training, universities,the employment market, etc.) and representatives of thecivil society and the education community (teachers,parents and students) is essential.

Second, it is imperative to identify pedagogical andmethodological approaches which boost the developmentof the intellectual capacities of the students and theirautonomy, and enable them to acquire sound and lastingcompetences and opportunities for continuous training

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For a country, likeTunisia, whose mainwealth is itsinhabitants’ intelli-gence and know-how, and that has theambition to catch upwith advancednations, producersof knowledge, theresolution of theseproblems at once isan absolute necessityand a challenge.

➤ An absolute necessity because globalizationchallenges us to upgrade quickly our educationalsystem so that it trains not only more personnel,but competent, creative personnel that value civicspirit, who are capable to adjust to new situationsthat are often unpredictable, and related to the fastmutations of our society and its global environment.

➤ A challenge because it is about increasing inshort-term and within the limits of our potentials,the internal output and the efficacy of theeducational system so that it complies with thepresent international norms. To achieve this, weneed to focus all our efforts on the improvementof the quality of learning and on the institution ofa real equality of chances between students bothat admission - which is already acquired in the 1stcycle – and at graduation.


● Third Requirement : Preparing children and youth for active life

In addition to its fundamental role to instruct andeducate, schools must provide children and youth with thetools necessary for future learning and a successfulinsertion in the professional world. This requires thedevelopment of four types of skills and competencesbeginning in the first years of Basic Education in theframework of the competency-based approach :

➤ Practical skills acquired through manipulation andexperimentation from a problem-solving perspective.All disciplines contribute to the development of suchskills, especially Science, Mathematics, andtechnology.

➤ Methodological skills consisting of transversalcompetences which enable the learner to set objectivesfor himself, plan for a mission, search for pertinentinformation and alternative solutions, prepare a report,and which write a summary or synthesis.

➤ Entrepreneurial skills consisting of the capacity tocreate and launch projects through collective orindividual activities carried out in all educational fieldsand which parallel school activities.

➤ Behavioral skills and attitudes which consist of relyingon oneself, cooperating with others, persevering,accepting criticism and having the ability to chooseone’s educational course consciously.

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and lifelong learning. This requires doing away withmethods and practices leading to an accumulationof knowledge that is irrelevant in so far as itis rarely used in authentic communication orproblem-solving situations.

● Second Requirement : Masteringnew technologies

New information and communication technologiesplay an increasingly important role in the lives ofindividuals and societies. Mastering these tools hasbecome vital in order to access the modern societyof knowledge. We have to take them both as ameans to update the education system and as apowerful teaching and learning partner. Theenormous resources that these technologiesprovide in terms of knowledge and access permit thedevelopment of varied competencesThe ‘educationalcontent’ industry has to be developed and integratedinto the education system to become a commonlearning tool.


is vital to modernise the teaching of Arabic in terms ofcontent, methods and organisation.

✦ develop the teaching of foreign languages. In additionto French, it is important to strengthen the teaching ofEnglish in light of its important place in the world todayas a means of accessing and transferring knowledge.Our young generations will need to master English,both in spoken and written forms, by the end of theBasic Education cycle.

✦ develop in students strong technical awareness, notconfined only to knowledge and skills through scientificand technical subjects, but also to ways of thinkingwhich are the building blocks for forming today’s‘citizens of the world’.

● Sixth Requirement : Promoting initiative

Soon after Independence, a unified national system ofeducation was set up which put an end to the uncoordinatedsystem inherited from the colonial period. This reform wasbased on a highly centralized management system coveringall pedagogical, administrative and financial issues. Strict

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● Fourth Requirement : Ensuring qualityeducation for all

The performance of an education system is notmeasured by the size of the school-going populationor amount of funds allocated to it, but by the ratiobetween those enrolled in school and those wholeave have experienced high-quality learning. Weare now dealing with a new educational patternwhich requires the establishment of pedagogicalapproaches that take into account differencesbetween individual students and different paces andstyles of learning, and which ensures equalopportunities of success for all through appropriateprocedures of evaluation, diagnosis andremediation.

At another level, differences between educationinstitutions in terms of national exams necessitatethe setting up of programmes to upgrade schoolswith performance below national and regionalaverages.

● Fifth Requirement: Regional and globalintegration through learning

Today, learning must be put into the context of ourglobal and regional realities. Therefore, schoolsmust :

✦ be fully responsible for the dissemination anddiffusion of our national culture. In this respect, it


✦ encouraging creativity and innovation at all levelstoward improving students’ learning and schoolperformance.

● Seventh Requirement : Setting standards for professionalism

Any modern high-performance educational systemdepends on the quality of its human resources. Novariable has a greater impact on schools’ performancethan teachers’ competence. The issue of teachers’qualifications is crucial and has to be dealt with initially atthe level of the teacher’s profile at the beginning of his/hercareer and, second, when teachers have already beenworking in the profession. Professionalism of teachersimplies a mastery of both the ‘science’ and ‘art’ of theirprofession, and an ability to design and implement‘pedagogic projects’.

Professionalism also means planning lessons,assessing student performance, motivating students andproviding remedial support based on regular learningassessment. A plan for increasing the professionalism ofschool heads, inspectors, advisors and trainers of trainersis also required.

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teaching methodology guidebooks were used whichhindered initiative and led teachers to believe thatgood teaching depended on the strict use ofpedagogic instruction sheets accompanyingteachers’ books.

Any strategy which aims to ensure higherefficiency in education has to develop a newdistribution of roles between central and regionalauthorities and institutions which allows each partyto have full jurisdiction of their specific tasks. Thiscan be achieved through:

✦ moving towards more decentralization in terms ofadministrative, financial, human resources andpedagogic management (e.g. continuousassessment, training programmes for staff, etc.)

✦ progressively adopting a demand in servicesapproach for pedagogic training and assistance,rather than one based on supply capacity. This islikely to ensure better structuring of activities anduse of resources; it will also more accuratelyreflect the true training requirements of educationpersonnel.

✦ establishing school projects which include theparticipation of teachers, administration staff,students, parents for the preparation andimplementation of school development plans.


Tunisia’s Education SystemToday

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II - Tunisia’s Education System Today

Assessment of an educational system can be internal orexternal. Internal assessment consists of determiningwhether the system is reaching its objectives within agiven period of time. External assessment involvescomparing an education system with others, particularlythose which represent good performance and high output.

For the purpose of determining the place of the Tunisiansystem in light of major education trends around the world,the principle of comparison was adopted. A sample ofapproximately twenty systems from the European Union,Finland, North America, Asia, Australia and New Zealandwas selected. These systems provide a benchmark forevaluation and comparison.

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relatively new, optional,fee-paying and with a lowcoverage rate.

Pre-school education hasgrown rapidly in mostdeveloped countries. Today,we notice increasing earlyattendance in pre-schoolprogrammes for childrenbetween ages of 3 and 5. Inmost European countries,pre-school is optional (exceptin Luxemburg). Pre-school isfree in most of Europeancountries, except Germany.

A large number of countries divide compulsoryeducation into two cycles which are distinct in terms ofspace and organisation. This is also the case in Tunisia.Only the Scandinavian countries combine the two cyclesof compulsory education within a single school.

Though most countries agreed on the age of 6 for theinitial school-going age, there is a difference in thedistribution of the number of years which make up eachcycle. For example, in most European countries, primaryeducation lasts 6 years; however, in Australia, Portugaland some provinces in Germany, it lasts only 4 years. Thesecond cycle lasts 3 years in Tunisia, but ranges from 2 inBelgium, 6 in Germany to 4 in France, Spain, Holland andAustria. Secondary education lasts 4 years in Tunisia, butvaries in Europe between 2 years in England, Spain and

35an education strategy for the future 2002 /200734

Comparison between the Tunisian system andthese systems is based on :

➤ General structure➤ Educational orientation and streams ➤ Content and timing➤ Curricula

II- 1 - General structure

There is a large amount of similarity in terms ofgeneral structure of the educational system amongthe countries in the sample. The most widespreadeducational ladder in the pre-university stage ischaracterized by :

➤ Schooling which lasts 12 years➤ Schooling which is divided into 3 cycles

(primary/ preparatory/ secondary)➤ Compulsory education which lasts 9 years➤ Compulsory education which is free of charge➤ Use of pre-school education, to almost full

coverage

On the whole, these characteristics are found inthe Tunisian system, with the exception that inTunisia the total duration of schooling is longer,lasting for 13 years. Pre-school education is

a new distribution of roles, a new program of vocationaland technical education is now the responsibility of theMinistry of Vocational Training and Employment.

As for the distribution of students between generalsecondary education and vocational training, Tunisia isstill far behind what has been achieved in the EuropeanUnion. Most students oriented towards vocational trainingare those who involuntarily drop out of secondaryeducation or do not obtain a Bac diploma.

II- 3- School timing

In the first cycle of basic education in Tunisia, the annualnumber of school hours ranges from 735 to 980, while theEuropean average ranges from 760 – 830 hours. In thesecond cycle of basic education in Tunisia, the totalnumber of hours is 840 a year, while the Europeanaverage is 910 hours. In secondary education theminimum number of school hours differs from one streamto another, ranging from 650 hours in Arts (literarysections) to 910 hours in technical streams. The Europeanaverage is closer to the latter.

Most European countries have flexibility in determiningschool timing as its management is the responsibility ofeducational institutions and/or teachers. The centralauthority establishes basic criteria (e.g. minimum numberof hours, subjects) which institutions have to allocateaccording to their own needs. In Tunisia, however, timingis unified, with no flexibility for modificiation.

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Holland , 3 years in France, Germany and Sweden,4 years in Belgium, Austria) and 5 years in Italy.

II- 2. Orientations and streams

Most countries agree on the importance ofensuring that the entire cycle of compulsoryeducation provides learners with a general trainingwhich forms the basis for later learning. The generalrule is more specialized streaming is not to takeplace before the age of 15 or 16 before the end ofcompulsory education. Exceptions to this areGermany, Australia and Luxemburg where studentsare streamed at the end of primary educationbetween ages 10 and 12. Such early orientation iscriticized in Germany and Switzerland today.

Tunisia aims to be closer to the averageEuropean age of 13.8 years for the introduction ofdifferent orientations.

Our education system provides students with acommon education in terms of content and evaluation.It lasts 9 years except in professional schools whichhave limited enrolment and are ‘schools of secondchance’.

The secondary school cycle consists of a 2-yearcommon core program followed by another 2-yearcycle for specialization in 5 areas leading to a ‘Bacdiploma’, and preparation for higher education. With


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Another comparison is the distribution of timing inkey disciplines. Of particular interest is theimportance given to the teaching of languages in thefirst cycle of education. In Tunisia, 58% of time isdevoted to teaching Arabic (30%) and French (28%),compared to 30% in the European Union for secondlanguage instruction.

Comparison of time allocated to the keydisciplines in Primary Education

II- 4 - Curricula :

Comparison was made of the following subjects:English, Maths, Natural Sciences, PhysicalSciences, History and Geography, Civic Education,


Arts, Economics and Management. This revealed anumber of defects and shortcomings in our curricula,including :

➤ absence of some types of learning,.➤ outdated contents,➤ separation between subjects,➤ heavy focus on theory,➤ weak integration of subjects,➤ overall absence of new technologies in teaching,➤ absence of free management of lessons.

European

Union (average)

20%

10%

20%

20%

15%

5%

10%

Tunisia

30%

28.5%

13.5%

7.5%

5%

5%

3.5%

Learning

Fields

national language

foreign languages

mathematics

sciences

artistic activities

religious education

physical education

Evaluations since 1992

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III - Evaluations since 1992

A 1991 law instituted the principle of periodic evaluationin-line with overall educational reform. Internal andexternal evaluations have been carried out continuouslysince 1992.

III- 1- Internal evaluation :

The Ministry carries out continuous evaluation at twolevels :

➤ Evaluation of the educational process (content oflearning, teaching methods, ways of assessingstudents’ acquisitions, teachers’ performance, etc.)Pedagogical inspectors are in charge of this taskthrough intensive visits yielding approximately 32,000reports covering all subjects annually.

Evaluation of student learning through nationalexaminations. Analysis of examination results allowsfor understanding of the validity of the school curricula,efficiency of the pedagogical methods and performanceof educational institutions.

From these assessments, we can conclude :

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◆ Lack of enthusiasm for school on the part of learners

and teachers’ because the role of schools is

restricted to teaching

III- 3- International comparative evaluations :

Since 1998, Tunisia has taken part in two internationalevaluation exercises:

➤ The Third International Mathematics and SciencesStudy-TIMSS-R evaluation assessing basic learning inMathematics and Sciences for 8th graders aged 14years in the Basic Education cycle involving 38countries.

➤ The M.L.A.- Monitoring Learning Assessmentevaluation which, in its last session, dealt with learningin Mathematics, Arabic and a transversal areaintegrating different subjects (Introduction to Sciences,


➤ heavy weight placed on theoretical learning,

➤ an almost total absence of an apprenticeship system for learningdiferent types of work,

➤ heavy weight placed on quantitativelearning in the curricula,

➤ The curriculum is rigid,

➤ Generally low students’ capability to search for information, analyse and synthesize lowperformance of students.

➤ written Arabic and French

III- 2- External evaluation :

The conclusions of 13 evaluations are centeredaround the following points:

◆ Abundance of subjects and a lack of integration

◆ Absence of focus the applied nature of learning

◆ Low student performance in speaking and writing

◆ Total absence of formative evaluation

◆ Absence of vocational skills in basic teacher

training

Concerning our participation in M.L.A, we were rankedfirst in Mathematics and Arabic and second in everydaylife competences. However, we should be cautious aboutthese results because:

● The participants are all African countries; therefore,comparison was made between educational systems withmodest performance overall.

● The limited number of participants (11) does notconstitute a sufficient sample for a meaningful and reliablecomparison.


civic education and geography) involved everydaylife competences for 10-year-old 4th graders inthe Basic Education cycle. Twelve Africancountries participated in this evaluation.

III- 4- Results and conclusions :

Tunisia’s first participation in TIMSS-R producedmodest results with a ranking of 29 out of 38countries in Mathematics and 34 out of 38 inScience. The poor performance of our students canbe attributed to the following factors :

● In Mathematics

➤ An overall lack in Tunisian curricula of mathematical concepts and skills whichare taught in other countries

➤ Limited opportunities for apprenticeship allowing students to apply mathematicalskills and knowledge

● In Science

➤ An inadequate amount of time allocated to the teaching of science : 5% of totalteaching hours in the second cycle ofBasic Education compared to 12% inmany other countries.

➤ No teaching of Physics in the second cycle of Basic Education

Major Directions of the EducationReform

49

51

IV - Major Directions of the Education Reform

The problems and weaknesses identified in theTunisian education system need to be addressedcomprehensively in a phased manner. There are six keyissues :

➤ Placing the student at the core of the educational process

➤ Mastering new technologies➤ Applying the principle of professionalism in

teaching➤ Focusing on educational institutions as the

basic cell in the education system➤ Emphasizing principles of equal opportunity and

fairness between regions and schools➤ Modernizing the education system and improving

its performance and capacity to meet thecurrent needs of the Tunisian society

IV- 1-1. Improving curricula and teachingmethodologies :

◆ Curricula can be developed according to the followingprinciples:

◆ Using internationalbenchmarks for curricul-lum development, a taskthat the Ministry hasundertaken and that isdue to end in April 2002.

◆ Determining learningacquisition norms andstandards for alldisciplines at all levels.This task is due tofinish in June 2002.

◆ Designing curriculaaccording in-line with ac o m p e t e n c y - b a s e dapproch

◆ Reviewing subjects and the amount of time allocted to each to emphasize the importance ofkey subjects (e.g. languages, Mathematics,Sciences), and to ensure better integration withinand between subjects. This entails :


IV- 1 - Placing the student at the coreof the educational process

For schools to be successful, they must place thestudent at the core of what they do. This involves :

➤ pedagogic measures to improve learning ➤ structural measures addressing the

educational cycles and orientations.➤ Organisational measures relating to the

organisation of school timing and school life.

Specific measures include :

➤ Improving curricula and teaching methodologies

➤ Promoting arts and cultural activities➤ Reviewing the timing in Basic Education➤ Including compulsory learning in the

second cycle of Basic Education➤ Creating new learning streams in

secondary education and improvingorientation mechanisms

➤ Ensuring better linkages between Bac and higher education sections

➤ Establishing a periodic evaluation system

are required forbalanced growth.

Develop children’simaginations, sensesand artistic expression

Enrich the generalknowledge of studentsby supporting literary,artistic and scientificlearning, and integratingknowledge in differentsubjects

Teach principles ofinitiative, self-reliance and collective work.A pilot school for the Arts has been established forstudents demonstrating artistic talent in music, drama andplastic arts. A new artistic learning stream is plannedleading to a Bac degree for talented 9th graders.

To increase students’ involvement in cultural activities inschool and develop cultural content in the curriculum, anoperational plan has been devised on the followingprinciples :

◆ Enlarging the scope of cultural activities for as manystudents as possible

◆ Seeking variety and quality in these activities◆ Expose students to cultural places by organizing visits

to museums, cinemas, theatres and art galleries◆ Developing partnerships between educational ins-

titutions and artists.

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✦ Promoting the teaching of Science and technology overall, and introducinginformation and communication technologiesat all levels of learning

✦ Consolidating the teaching of foreign languages in order to allow students tomaster 2 foreign languages by the end of theBasic Education cycle

✦ Enriching the cultural content of the curricula to familiarize students with different forms ofcultural expressions and symbols

✦ Incorporating in school curricula pre-requisitecompetences for vocational training andhigher education

◆ Providing enough flexible time and space for teachers to address students’ remediallearning needs.

IV- 1-2. Promoting artistic and culturalactivities :

Artistic and cultural activities are part and parcelof the educational process in addition to the rolethey play in teaching young people the ethics andstimulating learning. These activities aim to :

Contribute to the development of different formsof children’s intelligence, including the intelligence ofsenses and intelligence of the brain, both of which


✦ Setting up clubs specialized in cultural and artistic fields in all junior and senior high schools.Within this framework, at the start of 2001-2002school year, the following actions were taken:

Establishment of a school cinema club in each juniorand senior high school which plans movies for studentsinside the school, followed by debates enriching thepupils’ cinematographic and general culture as well asproviding an opportunity for experiencing the art andethics of discussion and dialogue;

Creation of clubs in the fields of theatre, painting,plastic arts, the internet and computer science in everyjunior and senior high school under the guidance ofexperts and experienced and motivated teachersregardless of the subject they teach.

Creation of music and body arts clubs in junior andsenior high schools where specialized staff is available.

Creation of a regional committee to follow up thecultural activities at the level of each local educationauthority whose task is to prepare, follow up, implementand assess the regional planning of cultural activities and

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The plan consists of :

◆ Increasing thenumber of clubs inprimary schoolseither by launchingnew ones or byactivating theexisting ones andseeing to it that morethan one club isfound in eachschool, allowing allstudents to practisea cultural activity either inside or outside theschool. For this, new formulas of cooperation andpartnership with the surrounding cultural spacesand the concerned organizations andassociations have to be created.

✦ Launching a cultural committee in each junior and senior high school whose functionwould be to plan, coordinate, carry out andassess the cultural activities of the variousclubs within the educational institution.

✦ Supporting the existing “cultural classes” and setting up new ones, and providing thenecessary material and human resources toensure their success, and therefore enrichthe training students receive at school.


The current organization of the school day is based ona 2-shift system with morning and afternoon shifts. Halfthe students in primary schools attend classes at 7:30a.m. and the other half leave school at 5:30p.m. afterhaving started classes later in the day. Hence, thenecessity to introduce a series of changes to the totalnumber of hours of instruction along with a revisedtimetable is proposed as follows :

◆ Introducing phasing of the total number of hours of instruction per week:

● 20 hours in the first and second grades (rather than 22.5 hours)

● 25 hours in the third and fourth grades (rather than 30 hours)

● 30 hours in the fifth and sixth grades (same as now)

● 32 hours in the seventh grade and 33 in the eighth and ninth grades (an increase of 2 and3 hours compared to now).

◆ Distinguishing between the major disciplines and other disciplines in primary schools

There is now a clear distinction between subjects whichconstitute tools for acquiring knowledge, such aslanguages and Mathematics, and those havingeducational and cultural dimensions. On this basis, twotypes of learning have been defined :


to take all necessary measures to spread the bases,objectives and dimensions of cultural work within theeducational institution.

IV- 1–3. Reviewing the school timetablein Basic Education

a. The weekly timing :

The current timetable in the first cycle of BasicEducation in the Tunisian education system differsfrom that in Europe in terms of:

➤ the total amount of instruction time per week,➤ allocation of instruction time for various subjects.

The average amount of instruction time per weekin Europe is 21 hours at the start of primaryschooling, although there is a wide range betweenEuropean countries (e.g. 15 hours in Denmark up to27 hours in Italy). The rate increases toward the endof the primary cycle, reaching 22.5 hours (rangingfrom 18 hours in Denmark to 27 hours in Italy).

By contrast, Tunisian students’ attendance time is22.5 hours per week in the first and second gradesand 30 hours by the third, fourth, fifth and sixthgrades.

We can, therefore, conclude that the timetablein the first cycle of Basic Education in Tunisiaexceeds the average in all European countries.

❏ priority learning areas inculcate tools foracquiring further knowledge and are thebasis for the later learning. They are taughtwith carefully planned progression and areonly taught during the morning or afternoonsessions, taking up most of the daily, weeklyand yearly allocated instruction time.

❏ Learning areas with educational and artistic dimensions (social, artistic andphysical education), which contribute to theoverall development of the learners’personality, the cultivation of talents andpreparation for life in community. Suchdisciplines, which will be compulsory in thefuture, are included in-group sessions withinclubs, which are free from the pressures ofthe traditional classroom settings andsuitable for developing initiative and a senseof responsibility.

◆ The club differs from the class in many ways :

✦ organization : the club may be a workshop, a group with specific membership criteria,specialized groups, carried out in open-air oroutside the chool (e.g. museums,municipality, community centers, etc.)

✦ programmes : clubs are characterized by flexibility through a general framework whichoffers a variety of approaches based onscientific skills and behaviors rather thanknowledge.


✦ assessment : the very nature of this type of learning necessitates the adoption of a differentsystem to assess objectives, approaches andresults

● Teaching in the first and second year of the first cycle of Basic Education should be limited to 5 instead of 6days per week, with one day devoted to club activities

● Adopting flexibility in school timetable in the first cycle of Basic Education and allowing schools the freedomto negotiate with parents the possibility of adopting aone-session system and reform of school start dates.

Comparison between the present timetable and thenew one

61

Yearly timing

New

560

560

700

700

840

840

896

924

924

630

630

840

840

840

840

840

840

840

20

20

25

25

30

30

32

33

33

22.30

22.30

30

30

30

30

30

30

30

2_ hours

2_ hours

5 hours

5 hours

0

0

+ 2 hours

+ 3 hours

+ 3 hours

first

second

third

fourth

fifth

sixth

seventh

eighth

ninth

At present

Yearly timingDifference Grades

New At present

This requires the development of pedagogical methodsand teaching tools, as well as a new allocation ofinstruction time in all cycles and levels of education.Tunisian children learn Arabic as a language and as aculture. They constantly practise it in spoken and writtenforms in all fields of knowledge and it is used as themedium of instruction to learn other subjects, includingMathematics, Science, social sciences and othersthroughout the Basic Education cycle.

❏ Revision of the time allocation for teaching French in the different cycles of Basic andsecondary education. The disadvantage of thecurrent allocation is that it devotes a larger numberof hours in the first cycle of Basic Education whichsharply decreases in the second cycle andcontinues as a trend into secondary education. Evaluative studies carried out in this respect areunanimous on the necessity of revising the amountof time allocated for French if greater efficiency isto be achieved. The proposed measurerecommends decreasing the time allocation forFrench in the first cycle of Basic Education andincreasing it in the second, as well as insecondary education. It also recommends thecreation of “French clubs” to promote oral skills.

Generally, mastering a language is not dependent on how much time is devoted to learning it, but onthe development of the ways, means and methodsused to teach it, as well as on the preparation andteaching skills of teachers.

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b- Allocation ofinstruction time fordifferent subjects

Analysis of differenth i g h - p e r f o r m i n gsystems confirmssubstantial differencesin the allocation ofinstruction hours fordifferent subjects.Revision of thesubjects and timetableis required, based on

the following considerations :◆ Strengthening the instruction of languages

through :

❏ Improving the teaching of Arabic by taking a series of qualitative structural andpedagogical measures, including :

Establishing a ‘preparatory year’ focusing on thedevelopment of oral activities during the earlydevelopment a child’s capacities for communicationand expression;

Adopting a competency-based approach in whichall subjects contribute to the development ofcommunication and expression through bothspeaking and writing;

Including Arabic as a compulsory subject in allBac sections.


minutes per week (from 1.5 to 2 hours) at fourlevels out of six in the first cycle of BasicEducation..

✦ Including the teaching of Physics in the second cycle of Basic Education with one hour and ahalf of instruction per week, allowing the globaltiming for the teaching of Natural Sciences andPhysics in junior high schools to increase up to 3hours per week, consistent with internationalpractice.

❏ Development of ” civic education ” by giving it a more practical character and including it in clubactivities in primary schools. In junior high schools,this involves field observation through visits to ins-titutions (e.g. municipality offices, governoratesand Chambers of Deputies headquarters, etc.),exposing students to real-life situations and parti-cipation in associations.

IV- 1- 4 Introducing optional learning in the second cycle of Basic Education

The second cycle of Basic Education constitutes anatural continuation of the first cycle and of the learningacquired in the first six years of schooling. The purpose ofthis cycle is to enable pupils to acquire a wide and solidbackground in Common General Education whichprepares them to later make choices from a variety of dif-ferent learning streams.

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❏ Reinforcement of the English languageby teaching it at an early stage andincreasing the amount of time devoted toEnglish instruction at subsequent levels. Theplan suggests three hours per week ofcompulsory club activity in the fifth and sixthgrades of Basic Education. It also suggestsadding one extra hour (from 2 to 3 hours) tothe present allocation in the seventh, eighthand ninth grades of Basic Education. Thetotal number of hours allocated to theinstruction of English in Basic Educationwould rise rom 168 to 420, yielding anoverall increase from 2.3% to 6% as aproportion of the total amount of instructiontime in the Basic Education cycle.

◆ Consolidation of the place of Scienceaccording to international criteria :

✦ Increasing the amount of time allocated to the instruction of Mathematics by addingone hour per week (from 4 to 5 hours) at alllevels of Basic Education, yielding an overallincrease from 14.1% to 17.3% as aproportion of the total amount of instructiontime.

✦ Increasing the amount of time allocated to the instruction of “introduction tosciences” as a subject by adding 30


Students will be allowed to change their choice oforientation in grade 9.

The purpose of introducing optional learningorientations is to enable students to thoroughly study agiven field of their own choice and prepare for a futureorientation in a way that allows flexibility and thepossibility of change to another orientation at a later date.

Special curricula are required for the development ofoptional learning orientations which represent integrativeapproach with interrelatedness between the subjects andknowledge, and which promotes the acquisition oftransversal competences, and group work.

As for the “Technical and Vocational “domain,vocational training can be developed in the form of apartnership between junior high (preparatory) schoolsand vocational training centers.

✦ Flexibility through allocating some time (e.g. 1 hourper week) to remedialwork in grades 8 and 9.This is to be donewhenever the needarises, and will beorganized throughconsultation betweenteachers, parents andstudents. This would beapplied either to foreignlanguages or Science.

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The number of children continuing to this cyclehas increased as a result of improving pass rates.This has resulted in a student population withvarious features and differences in inclinations,needs and learning paces. For this reason, and onaccount of new orientations now available, it hasbecome necessary to reorganize the educationalstructure in the last cycle of compulsory education,as follows :

✦ Providing a common set of learning objectivesduring grades 7, 8 and 9 for languages, science,social studies and arts, with approximately 90%of total instruction time allocated to them.

✦ Diversifying learning choices as early as grade 8through the introduction of optional orientations ofa scientific, technical, vocational, literary orartistic nature, and others which will later on helpstudents choose a stream of studies whichcorresponds to their aptitudes and aspirations.

✦ Introducing optional learning orientations ingrades 8 and 9 at the rate of 2 or 3 hours perweek. Students will be required to choose one ofthe following fields :

➤ Science and technology➤ Techniques and vocations➤ Natural Sciences➤ Arts and humanities➤ Languages and civilizations


➤ streams with multiple purposes which enable students to graduate with job-oriented competences as well as leave open possibilities forhigher education.

✦ including in secondary education the basic prerequisites for higher education.

✦ development of curricula at the secondary level which prepares students for higher education in away that ensures both specialization as well aspreparation in a range of disciplines and fields.Following national consultations on schools of thefuture, the importance of variety in learningstreams to guarantee choice for students andtaking into account students differing aptitudesand interests, the structure of revised learningorientations and streams is as follows :

a) A revision of the structure of the present learning streams :

✦ A division of the Arts/literary section into 2 sections:

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IV- 1-5. New learning options in secondaryeducation

At present, secondary education offers 5 streamsor sections that provide a general education. Three(Mathematics, Science, Technology) are mainly of ascientific nature, while others (Arts, Economics andManagement) focus on humanities and languages.While the existing orientations are supposed toprepare students for specialization, they do notconstitute a solid foundation for further studies afterThe Baccalaureate level. Moreover, they do notcater for students having interests other than inscience or languages.

It is now necessary to strengthen the relationshipbetween the training which students receive throughdifferent orientations in secondary education systemand the orientation available in Higher Education.This must be undertaken in the context of a policywhich allows for multi-specialisation and multi-domain universities, thus raising the output of bothsecondary and higher education institutions. Thisrequires :

➤ distinction between the 2 streams at the secondary level.

➤ streams which prepare students for higher education which place an emphasis ongeneral education through languages,Science and humanities.


Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment wherethe former will be responsible for general theoreticaltraining and the latter for technological training inspecialized centers and/or enterprises.

c) Revision of learning streams will be undertaken on thefollowing basis:

✦ To give student in grades 8 and 9 the opportunity to takeoptional subjects related to fields which reflect thesecondary education streams, thus enabling them tobecome acquainted with the different options availableto give them a clearer vision of their potentialeducational path and make informed choices.

✦ Adopting a gradual orientation so that:

✦ The first year of secondary education will be devoted toa holistic set of learning objectives while embarkingupon a process of more diversified training.

➤ Devoting the second and third years to training within a set of educational fields: languages,humanities, social sciences, economics andmanagement, basic experimental sciences andtechnology.

➤ Devoting the 4th year to a more thorough training of 20%-30% in one of the streams followedin the second and third years.

✦ Seeking flexibility by giving another chance to studentswho wish to change streams.


➤ Languages➤ Humanities and social sciences.

✦ Combining the Experimental Science andMathematics branches into one branch called“Basic Experimental Sciences.”

✦ Restructuring the subjects of Economics andManagement and revising the curricula.

✦ Creating a sports stream leading to a sportsbaccalaureate open to students belonging to asports elite.

b) Creating new channels in two directions :

➤ a stream leading to a baccalaureate in Arts (music, plastic arts, drama)

➤ a set of streams leading to a baccalaureate in technology.

On account of the complementary mandates of theMinistry of Education and the Ministry of VocationalTraining and Employment, this plan proposes:

✦ A specialized technology baccalaureate for theservice sector in the educational system.

✦ A specialized technology baccalaureate for theindustrial sector in the form of a partnershipbetween the Ministry of Education and the


This type of evaluation consists of using standardizedtests with a sample of the student population in basiceducation (languages, Maths, Science), conducted ingrades 4, 6 and 8 and in the 2nd year of secondaryeducation.

IV- 2- Media and communicationtechnologies in teachingand learning

New media and communication technologies represent astrategic choice in the school of the future. Technology isconsidered one of the most important means of pre-paring new generations for the challenges of the future.

The use of the new media and communicationtechnologies in schools aims to:

✦ Be used as a teaching aid to assist learners access various fields of knowledge;

✦ Ensuring a solid general education in all basicfields through a program of combined learningwhich will allow for changing streams while, at thesame time, preparing students to specialise lateron.

✦ The Arts and the sports streams come on line atthe end of grade 9 and continue uninterrupteduntil the end of the 4th year. Students are allowedto change streams they wish.

IV- 1- 6 Setting up a system of periodicevaluation:

Over the last 10 years, many countries replacedthe use of standardized tests for compulsory basiceducation and replaced them with continuousassessment. Tunisia has followed this internationaltrend through the elimination of regional exams atthe end of grade 6 and through adopting continuousassessment to measure preparedness for secondaryeducation.

In doing so, it is necessary to :

Set up a national evaluation system that issolely for the purposes of certifying learningachievement, but more akin to a nationaloversight mechanism that monitors the level ofattainment of agreed learning objectives

✦ Setting up a sophisticated system of distance learning and training;

✦ Producing digital contents and educational softwareprogrammes.

IV- 2-1. Integrating information and communication technologies in teaching and learning

A strategy which incorporates the new technologies inthe educational curricula has been set up for the purposeof helping students, at an early age, use them in theirstudies by searching for information, communicating moreeffectively and finding solutions to problems. Teachers willbe provided with support and guidance to help them usenew media and communication technologies in class forvarious subjects.

The strategy will be carried out within the context ofschool projects which delineate pedagogic goals,strategies, outcomes and means for evaluation.

IV- 2-2. Teacher training

The integration of media and communicationtechnologies in teaching requires a change in teachingapproaches and in teachers’ attitudes. This requirescontinuous teacher training for a mastery of the newtechnologies and skills. A part of this training will be donethrough on-site training while some will be throughdistance learning and the use of ‘virtual schools’.

75

✦ Enable learners to develop independence in the acquisition of new information, in termsof how and when they find it and the ways inwhich they choose to apply it;

✦ Familiarize learners with group work;

✦ Change the role of teachers from that of being the sole source for knowledge to thatof a monitor helping students accessknowledge from numerous sources;

✦ Provide variation in learning approaches by promoting distance teacher training in waysthat promote the principle of lifelonglearning.

To attain these objectives, the following plan hasbeen devised :✦ Integrating new media and communication

technologies in learning;

✦ Providing education institutions with the necessary equipment;

✦ Training educators to master media and communication technologies and use themfor teaching.

✦ Widening the educational network, improving its services and connecting it to educationinstitutions;


✦ Equipping all junior high schools and a pilot school in each primary school inspection constituencywith computers by the end of 2002. All the primaryschools should have computers by the end of2005.

✦ Supporting the establishment of computer labs in secondary schools, equipping the science andtechnology labs, and teaching various subjectsusing computers. In the first phase there will beone lab per secondary school.

✦ Launching pilot projects for ‘intelligent schools’with the intensive and comprehensive use ofmodern technology.

IV-2-4. Establishing an education network

The programme to connect educational institutions tothe network shall be undertaken as follows:

✦ Improving high school connectivity through digital lines during 2002

✦ Connecting all junior high schools by end-2002.

✦ Connecting all primary schools between 2001-2005.

✦ Also, a number of measures have been taken to develop educational services

77

There will be a consolidation of national andregional training programmes in computer use andthe internet, to develop digital content andincorporate media and communication technologiesin teaching and learning.

To encourage teachers and provide them with ameans to communicate, exchange information,pedagogic experiences, didactic products andsources, networks have been created which involveteachers, academic supervisors for various subjects(e.g. Mathematics, Physics, Natural Sciences,French, English, etc.). This will be expanded toinclude other subjects and a larger number ofeducators.

IV- 2-3. Equipment

Introducing media and communicationtechnologies requires a supply of computers toeducation institutes, as follows :


IV- 2-5. Distance teaching and training

To set up a comprehensive distance educational andtraining system comprising all levels of education, thevirtual school has become operational on an experimentalbasis in January 2002. Its scope and functions will be

broadened through expanding the number of leadersamong students, parents and public in the following fields:

➤ teaching Arabic to the children of Tunisian expatriates’;

➤ providing remedial instruction in all subjects at all levels;

➤ creating an open school to provide school leavers with opportunities to resume learning;

➤ creating a center for training educators in media and communication technologies.

79

and facilitate the storage and diffusion of thedigital information, including:

✦ providing the educators with accounts for accessing the internet to promote its use forimproved teaching.

✦ helping develop websites for educational institutions, education networks and centersof cultural and scientific invention andcreativity.

✦ facilitating access to educational resources and digital information via an educationalvirtual library.

✦ reducing reliance on administrative and school services carried out from a distancein order to improve student-and parent-oriented services and the establishment of anational scheme for communicationadministration.


conceptualization and planning tools.

To this end, the Ministry of Education has started carrying out the following projects :

✦ establishment of services at the school/institution level to assist :

➤ enrolment operations, attendance, orientations, exams, administrative and pedagogic support;

➤ management of human and material resources, facilities and equipment;

➤ monitoring teachers’ administrative and professionalstatus;

➤ managers of institutions for using quantity quality indicators of school attainment

✦ establishment of an education data bank to collect all local and regional data on students, teachers,administrators, pedagogic supervisors, facilities,equipment, results and other relevant information;

✦ establish an administrative network, inclu dinge-mail, the transfer of electronic files and distancedata copying and transmittal;

✦ modernize administrative software for connectivity with regional and national data bases.

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IV- 2-6 Development of virtual units and education

Educational software represents one of the mostimportant aspects of media technology in educationtoday. The National Pedagogic Centre shall create aunit that will produce digital multimedia aids tosupport implementation of the national curricula andpromote national culture. This unit shall beresponsible for the production of :

✦ multi-media digital instructional materials for students across subjects,

✦ digital books to accompany textbooks,

✦ teacher training software.

IV- 2-7 Establishing an educationdata system

Within the framework of improving theadministrative management methods, the Ministry ofEducation has started the establishment of acomprehensive integrated educational managementinformation system that starts at the level of theschool and gradually goes up to the regional andnational levels. This allows for careful analysis of theeducational system in terms of both quantity andquality and equips decision-makers with evaluation,


IV- 3-2 In-service training

a./ Primary school teachers : Primary schoolteachers receive two types of in-service training:

➤ Training leading to a degree allowing one to teach or be an inspector. This training is under theHigher Institute of Education and Training andoffers greater chances for promotion. Many of itsalumni are employees of the Ministry of Education.

➤ In-service training conducted by the Ministry of Education for retraining teachers and fordeveloping their cognitive and professionalcapacities.

b./ Practicing high school teachers receive two kinds oftraining:

➤ Qualification for those who have not obtai-ned the ‘Maitrise’ level qualification (i.e. Bachelor’sdegree). This training is conducted by the HigherInstitute of Education and Continuous Training.Interest in this training has been decreasing overthe last few years due to the fact that new recruit-ment is restricted to university graduates.

➤ In-service training is organized by the Ministry of Education in regional centers and in summerschools, often during school holidays. This trainingaims to maintain teachers’ intellectual and

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IV- 3- Supporting professionalismin teaching

Important changes in the education sector havebrought about new roles for teachers and directionsin the teaching profession. Current trends favourprofessionalism and solid teacher training at theonset of one’s teaching career. In-service training isaligned with professional competences defined foreach stage of education. This necessitates a longerperiod of initial study and basic training for teachers.In Europe, for example, initial primary teacherpreparation lasts 3 to 5 years after theBaccalaureate, whereas preparation for secondaryschool teachers varies from 3 to 6 years. At present,the situation in Tunisia is as follows:

VI- 3-1 Basic training.

a./ Primary school teachers : Basic training isprovided by Teacher Training Higher Schools. Thistraining takes two academic years and graduatescan teach only in the first cycle of Basic Education.

High school teachers : four years of basictraining is provided in universities for specificsubjects . After graduation, they are required to passa test for employment called ‘CAPES’. Upon passingthis exam, teachers take a rapid job-oriented trainingcourse, which has been judged to be insufficient toadequately prepare them for teaching.


85

professional capacities, with a particularfocus on encouraging pedagogic innovation.

Accordingly, the following decisions have beentaken:

➤ The content of training for primary school teachers in university training institutescomes under the jurisdiction of the Ministryof Education, although the administration ofthese institutes is under the juridiction of theMinistry of Higher Education.

➤ Basic training for primary school teachers will be extended to three years instead oftwo and a system of ‘alternating training’ willbe adopted.

➤ The Higher Institute of Education and Continuous Training will be responsible forone year of vocational and pedagogictraining for newly-recruited teachers prior totaking up an initial teaching assignment.

➤ Teacher training is being extended by one year for more intensive practice teaching.

➤ Teacher training is being broadened to includea set of specializations instead of only oneso as to meet the requirements of the newapproaches based on inter- and intra-subjectintegration of knowledge.


IV- 4. School as the basic unit in system

Schools are not only a place where students go tolearn and acquire knowledge, but are also placeswhere they develop values which shape theirpersonalities and behaviour. These values arereflected in the curricula , the ways educational ins-titutions are managed and through the nature ofrelations between different parts of an institution andeducation system.

IV- 4.1 School improvement projects

Schools cannot adequately fulfil their functions in asystem so centralized that initiative and innovation arestifled. The structure of an education system can be mademore flexible by turning schools into independentpedagogic entities that work toward general objectives of

have passed the second childhood stage and entered animportant stage in their growth.

Despite schools’ success in meeting educational goals,some students’ face problems as a result of the physicaland psychological changes related to adolescence.Others have difficulty establishing positive relationships inand outside school.

To improve relations in educational institutions andprovide learners with psychological and social support tohelp them overcome difficulties related to adolescence,the Ministry of Education has established counselingoffices in a number of junior and high schools. Theseoffices are visited by students who feel the need to discusstheir problems in a supportive atmosphere. Specialistslisten to students and try to facilitate communicationbetwen school and the outside environment. Counselling


the educational system within the public domain.Only then can schools have the conditions toundertake special projects which account for thespecificities and features of their own environments.

In essence, school projects represent anactivation and harmonization of all components ofeducational institutions and between the variousparties involved in them.

To achieve national education goals, educationalinstitutions at all levels are called upon to agree withpeople in the local area and in the nationalcommunity to :

✦ Reach an agreement among all parties involved in the educational institutionenlisting their involvement. Based on thisagreement, the work of the institution will beevaluated

✦ Involve all the parties concerned in the development, implementation and evaluationof the school project.

✦ Motivate people to contribute to its success.

IV- 4.2 Improving school life in high schools.

Upon reaching the second cycle of basiceducation and secondary education, students will

✦ To guarantee continuous and uninterrupted teaching, additional teachers shall be put at thedisposal of the inspectorates to replace absentteachers, particularly those absent for long periodsof time.

IV- 5. Supporting equal opportunityand equity.

IV- 5.1 Assisting priority schools

In addition to the measures already taken during the 2000– 2001 academic year, including the allocation of extrafunds for the construction of multi-purpose classroomsand the supply of education equipment and supplies, theMinistry will devote a certain number of overtime hours (10hours per school on average) to organizing remediallessons for the benefit of students with learning problems.

IV- 5.2 Introduction of preschool education

Full generalization of a preparatory year will be in place atthe start of the 2006 – 2007 academic year for all 5-yearold children. This will be done with the contribution ofeducation authorities, local communities, publicassociations and the private sector. The Ministry’sintervention will focus on priority schools andnon-municipal zones where private sector participation isless likely.

89

offices contribute to protecting teenagers fromhealth problems and misbehaviour, cope with schoolfailure and improve schools’ general atmosphere.

IV- 4.3 Improving school life in primary schools.

School administration in the first cycle of basiceducation is the responsibility of the headteachers.He/she is a teacher in charge of a number ofacademic, administrative and public relation taskson a full-time or part-time secondment according tothe number of classes in the school.

It has become apparent that a considerablenumber of headteachers cannot fulfil their academicand public relations responsibilities satisfactorily dueto their teaching commitments. This has had anegative impact on the training of teachers, theorganization of school life and the connection ofschool with the environment. Measures to addressthis include:

Consolidating the headteacher’s academic roleby granting him/her a full-time or a part-timesecondment from teaching through revision of thepresent secondment criteria.

✦ Appointing an assistant to the headteacher in every primary school that has more than14 classes.


network of interdependent relations (human material, legalor red tape ones) interacting with one another. In order tomake the components of an education system moreeffective, one has to:

➤ Support decentralization and encourage creativity in all fields and at the levels of the educational system

➤ Open the educational system to modernity by incorporating new technologies for teaching,training and management, and strengtheningresearch and evaluation processes.

➤ Improve management of the education system:

a./ Retrain education personnel through conti nuous training programmes.

b./ Provide the local authorities with human and material resources.

c./ Generalize the use of computers in education administration at the national and regional levels.

d./ Revise the structure of the information system within the Ministry and establish inter-connectivity.

91

VI- 5.3 Children with special needs

To support the idea of “school for all where allhave equal chances” , a plan will be carried out tointegrate those with special needs. This includes:

➤ Increasing the education system’s ability to integrate children with special needs byadopting approaches more suitable to theirlearning requirements (special assistance,technical support and health care, etc.).

➤ Identifying and diagnosing handicaps; parent counseling and guidance,

➤ Media and communication strategies to change attitudes and behaviors of all theparties in the education system in favor ofintegrating handicapped children in schools.

IV- 6. Modernizing the educationsystem to improve itsperformance and capacity tomeet society’s needs

Improving the performance of the educationalsystem and its outputs depends on a number offactors and variables, some of which arepedagogical, organizational, managerial andinformative. An education system is a complex


Execution Stages of the strategyspecific to the curricula

93

V- Execution Stages of the strategy

V- 1- short term: September 2002

✦ Revision of all the curricula of the first two stages(years 1-2-3-4) in first cycle of Basic Education in-linewith the competency-based approach

✦ Development of textbooks for pupils in grades 1-3 ofBasic Education in–line with new syllabi and thecompetency-based approach

95

V- 3 - long term :September 2002-2007

✦ Revision of school timing, orientations and subjects

✦ Setting standards for each level according tointernational norms

✦ Establishing the competences required for enteringactive life and pursuing studies in secondary education,and in areas of Vocational Education and HigherEducation

✦ Establishing Secondary Education Sections, flowsbetween the different branches, and determiningtiming for school orientation

✦ Development of remaining curricula in the first cycle ofBasic Education , and related textbooks/teaching aids.

✦ Development of curricula for the second cycle of BasicEducation according to the requirements of thecompetency-based approach, and development ofrelated textbooks/teaching aids.

✦ Development of the curricula of Secondary Education,and related textbooks/teaching aids.


In addition to a students’ book, development ofa student’s workbook in Arabic for students ingrades 1 and 2, and in French for grade 3.Children do not have sufficient opportunities towrite and copy at the initial stage of learning. Ithas been noted that the lack of a specialworkbook impedes teaching as primary schoolteachers waste time writing on the board orusing handouts.

✦ Development of teachers reference documentscorresponding to the new syllabi.

✦ Development of of a new Maths textbook forgrade 7 to ensure a better transition from grade 6

V- 2 - medium term :September 2003

✦ Introduction of Physics in the second cycle ofBasic Education and development of a syllabus,textbooks and equipment. This will be donegradually from grade 7 to 9

✦ Creation of an Arts Bac in Music, Plastic arts andDrama, following the example of the Sports Bacwhich has been created this year (2001-2002)

99

Agenda of application of the proposed measures


MeasuresDate of application

- Adoption of a time chart for years 1 and 2 ofBasic Education

- Adoption of the new time chart in years 3and 4 of Basic Education- Generalization of the English clubs in year 5- Introduction of physics in year 7 of BasicEducation- Beginning of application of diversified edu-cation with the introduction of optional lear-nings in year 8

- Adoption of the new time chart in years 5and 6 of Basic Education- Generalization of the English clubs in year 6- Introduction of physics in year 7 of BasicEducation- Beginning of application of diversified edu-cation with the introduction of optional lea-nings in year 9

- Adoption of the new time chart in year 7 ofBasic Education- Introduction of physics in year 9

- Adoption of the new time chart in year 8- Beginning of application of the remedialhour in basic learnings in year 8

- Adoption of the new time chart in year 9- Beginning of application of the remedialhour in the basic learnings of year 9 of BasicEducation

September 2002

September 2003

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105

Tabl

e 1

com

para

tive

data

on

the

stru

ctur

e of

the

educ

atio

nal s

yste

ms


Tabl

e 2

Annu

al ti

me

dist

ribu

tion

per

subj

ect (

age

:7 )

Tabl

e 3

annu

al ti

me

dist

ribu

tion

per

subj

ect (

age

:10

)


Tabl

e 4

annu

al a

lloca

tion

of ti

min

g ( a

ge :

13 )

Tabl

e 5

aann

ual d

istr

ibut

ion

per

subj

ect (

age

:16

)


Tabl

e 6

Dist

ribu

tion

of B

acca

laur

eate

hol

ders

per

fiel

d (T

he J

une

2001

ses

sion

)

Table 7percentage of the time allocated to the teaching

of Maths in the TIMSS 99 group.


Table 8percentage of the time allocated to the teaching

of Sciences in the 99 TIMSS group

October 2002 2002 - 2007 IN TUNISIA · 2002 - 2007 October 2002. I- Strategic Framework for the...

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