Educated teachers have a major role to play in promoting democratic principles, writes Mona Makram Ebeid* "A modern nation needs participating citizens, men and women who take an active interest in public affairs and who exercise their rights and perform their duties as members of a community larger than that of the kinship network and the immediate geographical locality. Modern institutions need individuals who can keep to fixed schedules, observe abstract rules, make judgments on the basis of objective evidence and follow authorities legitimated not by traditional or religious sanctions but by technical competence." (Inkles and Smith in Becoming Modern, Harvard University Press, 1974) Education is not only favourable to economic development, but also to political reform. Observations of events in various countries would reveal that credible and powerful opposition to governments in literate and educated societies have been pushing for democratic development. In contrast, in less educated and illiterate societies it is easier to mobilise opposition on the basis of religion, ethnicity and other ideologies. In an interesting study, Saad Nagui made an incisive comparison between Egypt and South Korea. He found that the countervailing forces to the Korean regime expressed by various sectors of the population were, and continue to be, concerned with advancing democratic practices such as political pluralism, free elections, public accountability of government and observance of human rights. The result has been a significant shift towards a stable democracy. On the other hand, opposition forces in Egypt are becoming pervasively grounded in religion and various ideologies. This underscores the pressing need to attend to education both in quantity and quality, as well as to accelerate the development of truly democratic institutions. Is this possible? It has become common among writers and intellectuals interested in politics and political participation to bemoan an absence of civic responsibility and prevalence of total apathy, particularly among young people today. Teaching students about democracy by having them study and discuss texts that describe democratic processes and institutions is obviously important, but not enough. School teaching is enhanced when students have an opportunity to integrate their study with civic education. This approach is a powerful means both for teaching the strengths and pitfalls of democracy and for providing students with the foundations of democratic and responsible citizenship. My thinking about civic education has been strongly influenced by my experience in working with schools, many of them in destitute areas and organising summer camps for the students as an extra curricular activity. Each year, as a summer project, students work together to identify and study a public policy issue. This year's project was to enhance students' understanding of the constitution and its relevance to human rights. The culminating activity was a simulated hearing in parliament where students, divided into groups, demonstrated their knowledge and understanding of constitutional articles and were given the opportunity to evaluate and defend different positions on contemporary issues and problems. This approach helped develop their intellectual and participatory skills while increasing their understanding of both the constitution and human rights conventions. In conclusion, the most important precondition for democracy is democracy in school. However, despite glowing statements about democracy and openness, schools in Egypt are unfortunately quite undemocratic and patriarchal. Violations of human rights, obscurantism, despotic approach of teachers towards students are all present. It is hoped that the discipline of civic education could be introduced in the main school curricula, where educated teachers could promote democratic principles through good examples and public advocacy, capable of bringing up a new, creative generation of responsible and concerned citizens. * The writer is distinguished lecturer in political science at the AUC, President of the Association for the Advancement of Education.
