Onderwijzers en onderwijsplanning in Tunesië

Samenvatting

Two years after Tunisia became an independent country in 1956, the educational system was reformed to allow more children to attend school and to eliminate the differences between religious Arabic education, and bilingual French education. The number of elementary school students consequently increased from 88,400 in 1958 to 810,800 in 1967. This resulted in a need for more teachers, and a lowering of standards to meet this demand. Some came from the Arabic-language Zitoena university, which is associated with the great mosque. Younger teachers tended to come from lower backgrounds than their predecessors. As a result of this and the fact that many less qualified teachers were being employed to meet the greater demand, the status of teachers generally decreased. Due to certain structural factors, both horizontal and vertical sm are difficult. Salaries are low, and teachers who work in rural areas often live in very primitive circumstances, causing many to request transfers to urban areas, or to their place of birth. Those involved in education take a moderate stance in regard to modernization; eg, while most favor coeducation, they feel it should be introduced gradually. 2 tables. P. Tiersma