The start of this new school year was quite special. It took place two days after the first round of the second presidential elections being held in Tunisia since the 2011 Jasmine Revolution.

Michael Drabble |

It’s that time of year again. Some weeks ago, more than two million Tunisian primary, junior high, and high school students headed back to school, just as hundreds of millions of children in…

Michael Drabble |

This is the second part of our interview with with Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali, World Bank Practice Manager in the Education Global Practice, on the challenges faced by the region’s education systems…

Web Team |

On the heels of the first World Development Report focused entirely on education, and its critical importance for stable and inclusive societies, we launch our annual ‘Back to School’ series that…

Web Team |

The demographic clock is ticking on both sides of the Mediterranean, from an aging workforce at one end to a workforce surplus on the other. Yet, whatever the demographic dynamics, the…

Hala Fadel |

This year, I was given the incredible opportunity of a summer internship at the headquarters of the World Bank Group in Washington, DC, researching the different levels of investment that…

Angelena Simms |

In Part II of her interview, Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali, World Bank Practice Manager for Education, explains the initiatives being take to improve all levels of public education in the Middle East…

Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali |

With the school year starting in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), millions of children are busily preparing to resume their studies. Some, caught in conflict, may not be able to go to…

Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali |

Graduation—a long-awaited day in most students' lives. Yet, according to Amir Fakih, himself a recent graduate from Lebanon’s Notre Dame University, a graduation ceremony also comes with…

Christine Petré |

Observers of the educational landscape in the Maghreb countries are often left with the impression that early childhood education is more a luxury than a necessity. While child-care centers,…

Kamel Braham |