Nabil NajdDirector MENA Region

THE FUTURE OF STUDENT RECRUITMENT IN THE MENA REGION –

A REGIONAL OVERVIEW

The ICEF Vancouver 2019

Vancouver, Canada April 24 - 26, 2019

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MENA Region Facts: General Information

• Offical Name: Middle East and North Africa• Number of countries: 25• Language: Mainly Arabic, Iranian• Government Type: Monarchy mostly, very few democratically voted governments• Population: 523 million• Ethnic Groups: Asian, European, American, British live and work in the MENA region• Economy: Oil and gas and natural resources 2

Geopolitical – MENA REGION

• Middle East is an important bridge linking to Europe, Africa and Asia• Throughout history, culture, trade, and ideas have flowed through the Middle

East „crossroads“

• The region was also the domain of many great empires throughout the centuries

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Population Size & Growth in the MENA Region

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MENA Market

MENA population growing rapidly in addition to the significant oil revenues has offered a captive market for the educational industry.

Population in the MENA region will skyrocket from 432 million in 2007 to 700 million by 2050.

The MENA region will continue to post double-digit average growth of around 5% annually in thenext five years.

Institutions must be patient.

The Middle East does not have a longstanding capitalist culture.

Business set-up time can be a longer than would be expected in the West.

MENA region is generously endowed with lavish natural resources and a young population with70% under the age of 30.

The region offers educational opportunities.5

Enrollment rates in higher education increased rapidly for the last ten years.

The forecast is that this will increase at about the same rate over the next ten years

Enrollment could increase by as much as 50 percent in ten years

Public expenditure on higher education has not been increasing at the same rate as enrollment.

The Size of the Market

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The Education System of MENA

● Local schools provide free education for all, including text books and trips

● International schools follow a variety of curriculums like IB, UK, American

● Schools have recorded consistent growth in enrolment

● There are more than 30000 schools (public and private in the MENA region)

● No boarding facilities, no food is provided, low resources

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The Education System of MENA (Deficiences)

● Students finish schools lacking appropriate foreign language proficiency

● Most schools have 12 years of education, so certain universities will

require the students to do a foundation year

● Students lose a minimum of two years before joining a university

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The Education System of MENA - Achievements

● MENA has taken great strides in education

● Achievement of almost complete gender parity for primary education

● Enrolment in the region’s school systems has increased significantly over the past decade

● Achievement of the universal primary education for girls and boys in most of the MENA countries

● Literacy rates for the adult population (defined as 15+ years) have increased from 59% in 1990 to 78% in 2010

● Government Financing Commitment: The average public investment in education across the region as a percentage of GDP is above 5.3% of GDP

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www.icef.com

Educational QualityLow educational quality of school systems in MENABasic skills are not being learnt

Skills MismatchPervasive mismatch between the skills required by the job market and those taught in schoolsMore firms in MENA contend that inadequate labor force skills, both technical and soft , impedetheir growth and ability to hire employees 8

The Education System of MENA - Challenges

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www.icef.com

Language Skills & Academic Demands

44% of Saudi students struggled with language skills – slightly higher than Middle Eastern students with 40%Struggle to meet Academic demands. Saudi students 37%, other Middle Easterns 27%

Loneliness and Social Connection36% of MENA students struggle in dealing with personal aspects Discrimination (23% MENA students versus 16 % overall)

Support ServicesDissatisfaction with campus support servicesHigh dissatisfaction for academic advising and student counselling services (15% MENA students versus 9% overall).

Source: World Education Services, Feb, 2017

Satisfaction of MENA Students - Challenges

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www.icef.com

Source: April, 2017http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN17T34G

MENA Students – Visa Issuance

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www.icef.com

Source: April 2013 http://www.canadianarabinstitute.org

MENA STUDENTS IN CANADA

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www.icef.com

NORTH AMERICA AND MENA STUDENTS

• North America becomes More Popular Destinations for Arab Students.• Canada attract more Arab students for more than a decade now.• Hunger of Arab students for quality education.• Going to Canada and USA and avoiding other English-speaking destinations.• KASP program results in Saudi students outnumbering all their Arab counterparts in many foreign destinations.• Saudi students accounts the largest proportion of MENA students in USA & Canada.• Saudi students alone has increased by 30%, making KSA one of the top five sending countries of students to USA.• Kuwait became one of the top 25 senders to USA. Number of students went up by 28%.• ME students grew 26%.• Algeria, Lebanon & Palestine decline in enrollment over 2011/2012 school year.• Egypt, Iraq, Oman, Qatar & Yemen all sent over 15% more students to USA in 2011/12 academic year than in the

previous year.

Source: November 2013 https://www.al-fanarmedia.org 14

Middle Eastern Students studying abroad

• Immense growth in the number of the Middle Eastern Students studying abroad• KASP is set to run until at least 2020• Other Middle Eastern nations like Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, etc. operate similar initiatives• Middle Eastern nations are not only keeping pace, but increasing their proportional representation• Saudi Arabia was the world’s fifth largest country of origin for those studying abroad and Iran the tenth – accounting for 62,500

and 51,600 students abroad respectively 15

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Middle Eastern Students AbroadBased on UNESCO data 2012

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Middle Eastern Students AbroadBased on UNESCO data 2012

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Global Flow of Tertiary-level MENA Students

Source: UNESCO Data , 2018http://uis.unesco.org/en/uis-student-flow

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Specialisation – Programs of Interest

Business33%

Engineering/ Architecture/

Aviation20%

Medicine/ Dentistry

13%

English9%

Health Science/Medical

Sciences6%

Computer science/IT

6%

Arts/Humanities/Education

5%

Design/ Other trades

3%

Law/ International Relations

2%

Media & Mass Communication

2%

Science1%

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SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE IN MENA REGION

• Social media usage in MENA was particularly visible during the pro-democracy protests of the Arab Spring beginning in 2011.

• Facebook and YouTube are widely used across the region• Variations from country to country. Internet penetration varies from 85-90 % in Bahrain, UAE

and Qatar to, at the lower end of the range, 44- 50% in Jordan and Egypt.• Nine in ten internet users in MENA use social media everyday.• Smartphones account for 40% of web impression in the region.

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• Top five social networks in MENA and selected markets by percentage of Internet users

• Facebook is the leading network with a 89% penetration among MENA Internet users.

• Twitter and Google+ are a distant second and third respectively• The chart reflects national variations as well, including the notably

high levels of Twitter usage in Saudi Arabia

FACEBOOK IS YOUR #1 FRIEND

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Population of Facebook users by country

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Age Split of Facebook Users & Language preference

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Population of Twitter users by country

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5

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15

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25

30

35

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DIPLOMA BACHELORS MASTERS FOUNDATION EnglishCertificate/Course

Level of Study

25

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

18-23 24-28 29-33 34-38 39-43 44-49

No.

of s

tude

nts

Students Age Group

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FEMALE20%

MALE80%

Student Demographics-Gender

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• Going abroad is a tradition• The Ministry of Higher Education provided lists of the recommended

higher education institutions.• Students wishing to complete their higher education must obtain the

approval of the ministry before the enrollment through online request of the program study

• MENA Students also believe that studying abroad will give them:o A greater chance at career successo Gain better knowledge / skills than at homeo Get a good job in chosen fieldo Can earn more moneyo Improve English-language skillso Get expected academic marks / resultso Can live in study destination permanently

Trends & Tendencies of MENA Students

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Thank you!