Libya

Public & Private: Libya has three major universities that grant bachelor's degrees: Gar Yunis University, Al-Fetah University, and Marsa Berga Technical University. In 1992, Libyan universities enrolled 72,899 students, of whom 46 percent were female. Females were concentrated in the humanities and males in science, engineering, and business faculties. Government encouragement has led to increased participation of females in the sciences, especially in medicine. Social attitudes concerning the properness of females and males working together either in school, or later in the workplace, inhibit more rapid advancement of women into nontraditional professions. By 1992, some 72,899 students were enrolled in Libya's universities.

Admissions Procedures: Students who earn a secondary school diploma are eligible to enter Libyan universities. Extremely rapid expansion of educational opportunities has led to a decline in the preparation of students and very high grade repetition rates in Libyan universities. In 1976, an estimated 79 percent of engineering students had to repeat their first year at university. Comparable rates in the arts were 74 percent.

Administration: Universities are administered by "People's Committees," consisting of six faculty members, four students, two members of the instructional staff, and one woman. The chancellor of the university is the chair of this committee. The Secretariat of Higher Education exercises oversight and is responsible for the quality of graduates from schools at all levels throughout the Libyan educational system. The language of instruction in universities is Arabic.

Tuition: Because of Libya's tremendous oil wealth, education is free. The Libyan government spends between 9,000 and 13,000 LD per year on each university student, but in return they can more rapidly achieve their goal of placing Libyans in all essential jobs.

Foreign Students: Roughly 16 percent of Libyan university students are non-Libyans from other African and Arab nations. Many foreign students are on scholarships offered to them by Libya as a means of spreading its influence, as well as sharing its wealth.

Libraries: The National Archives are located in Tripoli and are the official repository of historical documents for Libya. This unit consists of 5 libraries containing 55,000 books and documents. In addition, the Government Library is also located in Tripoli and has 35,000 books. There is an Agricultural Research Center Library in Tripoli with 6,000 books and 220 periodicals. The National Library of Libya is located in Benghazi, as is the Public Library of Libya, which contains 11,000 books. Qurinna Library and the University of Gar Younis Library are both located in Behghazi. The Gar Younis Library has 294,844 books; 2,360 periodicals; 70,000 documents; and 10,000 microfilms and rare books.

Beyond this, there are libraries on the campuses of Al-Fateh University, Al-Arab University, Bright Star University of Technology, Sebha University, the African Centre for Applied Research and Training in Social Development, the Arts and Crafts School, the Faculty of Engineering, the Higher Institute of Electronics, the Higher Institute of Technology, the National Institute of Administration, and the Post and Telecommunications Institute Library, all of which help to disseminate knowledge and encourage lifelong learning in Libya.

In 1975 Libya published 129 books, but by 1994 this number had dropped to 26. Hardest hit were books in the Social Sciences, which fell from 28 in 1975 to 2 in 1994, and the Pure Sciences where 21 books were published in 1975, but only 2 in 1994. In 1996, Libya had 4 daily newspapers with a daily circulation of 71,000 papers; this means that 16 out of every 1,000 Libyans are reading a daily paper. Many Libyans get their information through radios, of which there were over 1.3 million in 1997, and televisions, of which Libyans had 730,000 in that same year. They share information by talking, as indicated by the fact that there were 380,000 telephones in Libya or 6.8 telephones per 100 inhabitants in 1996 (UNESCO).