Lack of Executive Education in the Islamic World: Causes and solution

In the present economic scenario of the world, one can find that among the world leading business tycoons, business cartels and multinational companies, the Islamic world, generally, and the Arab World, particularly, is doing not that well to be counted amongst the first rank. We can trace causes of this phenomenon back in the Nineteenth century. The Islamic world, most of its part, in the beginning of the 19th century, when the western world was breaking new grounds in science and technology after renaissance, was subject to the world colonial powers that colonized them with their superior weaponry and strategy. The Islamic world became a market for them from which they purchased raw material at cheap rate and sold them finished products making out of their raw material, at high price. rnThe colonized people if could learn from their masters was nothing but their languages, literature, and at most their philosophy; but nothing regarding economic or Executive education. The education given to the colonized people by their masters were tailored in such a way to prepare a lot like clerks and agents to facilitate their growing economic interests in the regions, not as their potential economic heirs. So the masters did not train them to make them leaders since the masters were at the helm of the affairs. They blocked every way to stop them from coming into the position of becoming economic leaders. rnEven after the winning independence from the colonial powers, the Muslims countries did not focus on the education in general whereas the executive education or leadership development was not in scope even at the margin of education policy. Of course slaves cannot develop anything of independent nature. It is easy to set free the bodies but to liberate minds it takes years of constant and consistent effort.rnThe legacy carried on to culminate in the present day business cartel and multinational companies and business tycoons. The western world needed more trained people to carry on the legacy of economic leadership. So they asked the educationists to design the executive education to prepare future economic leadership. On the other hand the Islamic countries did not initiate executive education in proper terms since in the running economic scenario their role did not exceed beyond the role of consumer or middle man, or at most a distributer. The scope of their education saw no need for executive education. Their scope was to get a job in some national or international company and that was it.rnThe ever-growing multinational companies left little room for small business men and local business companies. To procure and maintain economic monopoly, to have lion’s share in the wealth of countries the multinational companies are leaving the local business men and companies lagging far behind with their power of manipulation.rnTo avert this situation any further, we need to revolutionize our economic education so as to produce economic leaders in future. The executive education must be incorporated in the economic education in an effective manner.rnHere is point worth noting that mere incorporation of executive education alone cannot make any good unless there is an application of its implementation in the real market. Along with the executive education the governments should ensure that the capable youth qualified in the executive education will find a friendly and supportive environment where they can exert their abilities to excel at level of leadership in economy and finance. It needs a very comprehensive, well worked out planning in collaboration with the variety of economists. We are fortunate that we still have the economists like Mahathir Mohamad whose expertise can be utilized to make not only the syllabi for the executive education but building up a complete set up to make actual leadership in the economic sphere.