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Libya
Index
The University of Libya was founded in Benghazi in 1955, with
a branch in Tripoli. In 1973 the two campuses became the universities of Benghazi and Tripoli, respectively, and in 1976 they were
renamed Gar Yunis University and Al Fatah University, respectively.
In 1981 a technical university specializing in engineering and
petroleum opened at Marsa al Burayqah. Enrollments were projected
at 1,700 students. In addition, there were technical institutes at
Birak, Hun, and Bani Walid. By the early 1980s, schools of nuclear
and electronic engineering and of pharmacy had been established at
Al Fatah University, while plans called for the construction of an
agricultural school at Al Bayda for 1,500 students.
Expansion of facilities for higher education was critical to
meeting skilled personnel requirements. Technical education was
being emphasized in keeping with a trend toward more specialized
facilities for both secondary and university studies. In 1982 the
GPC passed a resolution calling for the replacement of secondary
schools by specialized training institutes whose curricula would be
closely integrated with those of the universities and technical
institutes. In 1985 the GPC called for a further expansion of
vocational and professional training centers and for measures to
compel technically trained students to work in their fields of
specialization. Students were also expected to play a more active
role in the economy as the country attempted to overcome the
shortage of skilled manpower caused by the expulsion of foreign
workers in 1985
(see Population
, this ch.). In view of declining
allocations for education in the mid-1980s, however, it was
doubtful if these and other goals would be met.
University enrollment figures for the 1980s were unavailable in
1987. However, they had risen without interruption since the 1950s,
and it seemed probable that this trend was continuing. About 3,000
students were enrolled in the University of Libya in 1969. By 1975
the figure was up to 12,000, and a 1980 total of 25,000 was
projected. Female enrollments rose dramatically during this period,
from 9 percent of total enrollments in the 1970-71 period, to 20
percent in the 1978-79 period, to 24 percent in the early 1980s.
In the 1970s, many students went abroad for university and
graduate training; in 1978 about 3,000 were studying in the United
States alone. In the early 1980s, however, the government was no
longer willing to grant fellowships for study abroad, preferring to
educate young Libyans at home for economic and political reasons.
In 1985 Libyan students in Western countries were recalled and
their study grants terminated. Although precise information was
lacking, many students were reportedly reluctant to interrupt their
programs and return home.
University students were restless and vocal but also somewhat
lacking in application and motivation. They played an active role
in university affairs through student committees, which debated a
wide range of administrative and educational matters and which
themselves became arenas for confrontation between radical and
moderate factions. University students were also among the few
groups to express open dissatisfaction with the Qadhafi government
(see Student Opposition
, ch. 4). One major source of tension arose
from the regime's constant intervention to control and politicize
education on all levels, whereas most Libyans regarded education as
the path to personal and social advancement, best left free of
government meddling.
In 1976 students mounted violent protests in Benghazi and
Tripoli over compulsory military training. More recently, in March
1986 students of the faculties of English and French at Al Fatah
University successfully thwarted Qadhafi's attempt to close their
departments and to destroy their libraries, part of the Arabization
campaign and another of Qadhafi's steps to eliminate Western
influence. A compromise was worked out whereby the departmental
libraries were spared, but both foreign languages were gradually to
be phased out of university curricula. After this incident, Qadhafi
announced that Russian would be substituted for English in Libyan
schools, a policy which, if implemented, was certain to cause both
practical and political difficulties.
* * *
Despite the attention Libya has received in the press and the
appearance of a few major works within the last decade, the
literature on Libyan society is relatively thin and uneven. The
best and most comprehensive general introduction is also the
newest--Lillian Craig Harris's Libya: Qadhafi's Revolution and
the Modern State. Her primary focus is political and economic,
but Harris also discusses the people, the social achievements of
the revolutionary government, and social disaffection. Richard
Parker, North Africa: Contemporary Politics and Economic
Development, gives another overview of Libya in the early
1980s, although he, too, is primarily concerned with politics and
foreign affairs rather than with domestic affairs. John Wright,
Libya: A Modern History, provides extensive coverage of the
independence period, being particularly valuable on social change
during the 1970s.
There is a general dearth of current reliable social statistics
for the 1980s, in contrast with the 1970s. The available data is
often a decade or more old and in some cases is missing altogether.
The best available sources outside the country are the various
publications of the United Nations and the World Bank. Much useful
and usually more current data can be found in the quarterly
economic reviews published by the Economist Intelligence Unit
(London).
The situation is considerably better with respect to analyses
of social structure and values. Omar El Fathaly and Monte Palmer's
Political Development and Social Change in Libya and
"Opposition to Change in Rural Libya," are concerned with the
evolution of social structure since independence. Basing their
conclusions on field surveys, these researchers document the
resilience of traditional values in shaping contemporary Libyan
society, especially its elite structure. In "Libya: Personalistic
Leadership of a Populist Revolution," Raymond Hinnebusch dissects
the revolutionary-era elite in a scholarly treatment that also
shows how the ideals of the revolution have affected elite
formation. A series of essays covering almost all aspects of
society, in some cases since the nineteenth century, comes from
Marius and Mary Jane Deeb, Libya Since the Revolution. Like
El Fathaly and Palmer, the Deebs write on the basis of first-hand
experience, but unfortunately their data are largely drawn from the
early and mid-1970s. Mustafa Attir's "Ideology, Value Changes, and
Women's Social Position in Libyan Society," examines attitudes
toward women and traces the evolution of female rights and status
over the last four decades. Ann Elizabeth Mayer's "Islamic
Resurgence or New Prophethood, details the legal and theological
reasoning and posturing that lie behind Qadhafi's view of Islam and
his challenge to the religious establishment. (For further
information and complete citations, see Bibliography).
Data as of 1987
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