June 13, 2010 -- University staff from around the Maghreb met in Rabat this month to organise a federation that will encourage regional consultation and promote scientific co-operation. The federation will work to create a unified Maghreb university system that will increase the competitiveness of its partner schools and harmonise curricula across countries. The body will also represent the Maghreb in international meetings, the general secretary of the National Union for Higher Education in Morocco, Muhammed Derouiche, said at the two-day meeting that ended June 5th. He stated that the body will help develop scientific research in the Maghreb, a region that has been unable to keep up with international developments in this field. "Scientific development should be a strategic choice on the road to economic development in the region, in a world where regional and inter-regional groupings are among the current ways in which economic interests can be served," Derouiche said. "The promotion of scientific development requires improved working conditions for research fellows and the development of suitable research methods and structures," he added.

The creation of a federation to represent the concerns of Maghreb universities is "important", said Sami Aouadi, who heads the General Union for Higher Education and Scientific Research in Tunisia. "[The federation] hopes to boost scientific research in the Maghreb by intensifying the efforts being made by the region's universities," he said. "Maghreb countries need to take scientific research seriously by increasing funding for the sector and adopting new approaches based on information, competition, technological development and creativity," he told Magharebia. "In this way, the longed-for economic growth can be achieved, alongside wide-ranging and sustainable regional development." Abdelmalek Rahmani, the national co-ordinator for the National Council of University Teachers in Algeria, struck a similar chord. "The Maghreb countries need to capitalise on their human resources, with all their wealth of potential and skills," he said.

Brain drain is another major issue the federation should deal with, said Hamid Ahmed Abou Sbae, the general secretary of the union responsible for university education in Libya. The new federation should develop a common strategy with the Arab Labour Organisation to stop the migration abroad of the Maghreb's scientific elite, he said. The creation of this federation is another step towards Maghreb unification, said some of the university representatives. "Any initiative that brings the Maghreb countries together around a common goal is to be applauded," stated Said Saaddine, a lecturer at the Mohammedia Faculty of Science and Technology. But sociologist Ali Chaabani said the federation, while a good initiative, might not be a clear contributor to greater Maghreb integration. "Teachers can achieve co-ordination with one another, because they're not involved in the politics. But the general climate could have an impact on how this union develops," he said. "Still, there are grounds to be optimistic, because they can't derail activities of this kind. It's an important step forward," he added.