Libyan teachers get ready for education overhaul
csmonitor.com
09-Sep-2011 (2 comments)

Teachers at Nemuthajia Elementary School in Benghazi, Libya, will return Sept. 17 for the first day of classes in a new Libya. It will be the first time in 42 years they can teach the truth, they say. At a small elementary school here in Libya’s second-largest city, dozens of teachers are preparing for the first day of classes since the fighting started in February and abruptly forced all schools to close.They gather in sunny but spare classrooms surrounding a bare courtyard with peach walls. According to a sign above the entrance, this is Maarakat El Karama Elementary School. But the teachers shake their heads at mention of the name. It was bestowed on the school after the 1969 coup led byMuammar Qaddafi, who became Libya’s leader for the next 42 years before being ousted by this year’s revolution. The teachers have decided to return to the original name of the school, El Nemuthajia. It means “exemplary.”

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Darius Kadivar

Libya's Royal Past Back in Textbooks

by Darius Kadivar on

Textbooks were infused with Qaddafi regime ideals to train obedient citizens. The most blatant was a subject called “The People’s Society," in which students studied, among other things, Qaddafi’s Green Book laying out his political philosophy. But his propaganda was also woven into history textbooks, which teachers say almost totally omitted mention of the monarchy that Qaddafi’s coup overthrew.

 “A huge period was missing” from the history books, says history teacher Abdel Salam El Imami. "I didn't know who tried to unite all of Libya after colonization – it was the monarchy." But under Qaddafi, he couldn't teach that to students. In Arabic language lessons, the text to be studied often contained stories about the leader.



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پندارنیک

And that's where...

by پندارنیک on

...they belong to.............the back pages of history books...........that's all for them, and this is a "thank you" for you..........