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The Chalange Of Education |
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by Rania El Hilou
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 It is an advantage to be exposed to two different broadcasting schools of thought, especially if you are able to capture the best of both. Combining my education in Palestine and the United States has enabled me to better prepare my students for their careers. Most universities in the Middle East are facing several challenges, one of which is the lack of practical technnical
training. While most Arab broadcast educational systems focus on teaching theories, broadcast employers look for technical experience.
As a broadcasting instructor at two universities in Palestine, I have found that the curricula focus on providing lots of history, theories, and technical terms – which is not balanced with practical training. Not to mention that the educational system depends on memorizing the information, rather than understanding it. This encourages the students to imitate, rather than create. Part of this unsuccessful relationship between theory and practice goes back to the region’s overall economic situation. This is partially reflected in the lack of studios and equipment. Another contributing factor is that most instructors lack technical training themselves. In fact, technical experience is not a pre-requisite to hiring a broadcasting instructor in the Arab world. In the United States, training is an essential part of broadcast education. I remember that one of my very first assignments was to cover a story that included all phases of production. Unfortunately, in most Arab universities, even the basics of technical training are neglected. As a result, most universities graduate underdeveloped broadcast students.
This weighs heavily on the industry, as it means we bombard the field with amateurs who might – or might not – develop their knowledge through self education. How often do we see a broadcasting student in the Middle East actually holding a camera and covering a story? Try to find a female student doing this! I believe that change always starts with a strong motivation for success and a great deal of practice. That’s why I always encourage my students to really use their talent and creativity, and not allow themselves to be bound by the limitations of the current educational system. Against all odds, I accompany my students to local streets and encourage them to interact with the public to document their stories. Like the educational system, the broadcasting industry suffers from major obstacles that require solutions. The educational system may be able to relieve some of these problems, but only when it enhances the educational curricula at universities to include more training – and then updates its facilities regularly. For example, almost all broadcasting software can be purchased at a great
discount when purchased by an educational entity. But this is seldom taken advantage of in the Arab world, mainly because universities neglect to allocate a yearly budget for such updates. Another important step is requiring faculty to update their knowledge by attending continuing educational classes and seminars at least once a year. As we all know, the broadcasting industry relies heavily on technology and computers, which is an ever-changing field. Most hardware and software turn obsolete in less than two years. In the States, professionals are required to complete a certain number of credits each year in order to sustain employment or certification. This should be the case in our universities if we want to tackle this issue.
This should also be paralleled by serious efforts to fund research, because academia could play a major role in producing independent and reliable studies. These are definitely necessary for proper growth of the industry. To achieve major reform, the media industry in the Middle East should:
- Create media standards according to international norms that avoid heavy censorship, which cripples the main role of media.
- Guarantee safety to all media practitioners in the field.
- Guarantee journalists the right to keep their sources confidential.
- Encourage media’s role in edutainment in all fields, including democracy and human rights.
- Introduce the audience to different cultures, including the good and
- the bad, to ensure full social development.
- Encourage the audience’s role as active critics, not passive recipients.
The Arab broadcasting industry requires a new vision and strong collaboration between the educational system and the commercial sector. They need to unite and work together to fill the gap. This is the key to solving many of the obstacles we face, so we can finally take the Arab broadcasting industry to a new era. Our students are talented and capable of shouldering the load-if we provide them with an education that balances theory and practice.
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