Following the 2011 Arab Spring, Libya experienced the dissolution of the long-time dictatorial regime of Muammar Gaddafi, culminating in showings of mass violence. Prior to the Arab Spring uprisings, Libya primarily held an isolationist view of education, limiting academic collaboration to within the nation’s 30 universities and actively working against English language academic research.

Throughout the 2011-2012 period, several Libyan academics abroad praised the removal of the Gaddafi regime as a way to increase academic research and standing for Libyan universities around the world. There was genuine hope for the future, particularly with the announcement of the Tripoli University Program for Rebuilding Libya in 2012. Following the university’s reopening, the program set out four main goals:

1. Develop a nationwide civic education strategy through Libya’s primary universities.
2. Establish a university communication and outreach production unit.
3. Create a platform to support the role of women during the transition.
4. Provide online civic education and professional development courses for women, disadvantaged groups, civil servants, the voluntary sector and development staff.

Within the first year, events overwhelmed the proposal. The proposed reforms may have been considered “tone-deaf” and portrayed a general political aim instead of an attempt to stabilize the Libyan higher education system in the wake of recent conflict.

Current State of Libyan Higher Education

Following years of civil war within the country, Libya remains in a political stalemate with the United Nations (U.N.) calling for a peaceful, Libyan-led shift to democratic power. While the government sits at a standstill, the same can not be said of higher education. Libya’s nation-state boasts more than 20 universities, with access intended to reach the urban-rural divide.

Mainly built during the Gaddafi regime, the resources accessible to the institutions were dependent on their location regarding urban centers with the modern elite of the political party. It has to be noted that due to the political upheaval surrounding the past decade, more than 200,000 Libyan students have had their education interrupted or delayed and some even ceased altogether.

After the 2011 civil war, university resources became more scarce and the funds necessary to pay staff and faculty became contentious. In 2023, the faculty at the University of Tripoli staged a two-month sit-in, protesting the lack of pay and benefits received. The protests were exacerbated after the University needed to close temporarily due to political violence spilling onto campus grounds. Several universities stood in solidarity with the University of Tripoli, including the University of Benghazi. The strike would experience extremes, including when armed forces kidnaped a leader of the General Syndicate of University Teaching in an attempt to stop the strike.

During the Tripoli-based violence, the University of Benghazi was set to receive a visit from the World Federation for Medical Education regarding the university’s QS ranking for 2023. Beyond the delay of international recognition, the University of Benghazi suffered property damage to the campus within the past decade of civil war. And while action has been taken to mitigate portions of the damages, the campus, like many others, remains in disrepair.

Continued Barriers to Higher Education

As Libyan universities attempt to make education accessible despite political instability, several barriers restrict students’ access to higher education. Due to the political upheaval, there is a risk of violence bleeding onto university campuses, which has occurred as local militias become “university guards.” These militia members are under nonexistent supervision and reportedly have caused more harm than good. There have been several instances from multiple universities that show a pervasiveness of harassment by militia members on university campuses. Harassment and violence escalated in several cases to the point in which female students have been unable to attend lessons and, as such, delayed or hindered their education.

While political violence and uncertainty surrounding portions of the country explain issues involving militias and campus-based harassment, conflict-related hindrances are not the only barriers to higher education (and education in general); language remains a pervasive barrier. Within Libya, there is a minority population of Amazigh (“Berbers”) who speak the Tamazight language. Speakers of the Tamazight language cross several national lines, including Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and specifically the Siwa Oasis within Egypt. The Gaddafi regime, which titled itself the Libyan Arab People’s Jamahiriya, created clear ethnic and linguistic lines that have yet to be meaningfully rectified.

Hope for the Future

Throughout the continued violence and contested ideas of a national government, Libyan academia has persevered. Several studies within the last decade are attributed to Libyan academics, specifically within the realm of climate science and resilience studies. While resources and funding are scarce, professors have continued to research significant local and global issues while simultaneously teaching in universities that can not be guaranteed to protect them from violence. Libyan academics have continued to pursue knowledge throughout more than a decade of adversity, showing strength and tenacity in the face of conflicts.

– Jamie Sackett

Jamie is based in Hutto, TX, USA and focuses on Global Health and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons