This House believes education is worthless without freedom of speech
Monday December 06 2010
MOTION PASSED
by 53% to 47%
Opinion poll
Doha, Qatar 17 January 2011: More than 80 percent of Arabs believe that
education is worthless without freedom of speech, according to a recent poll
conducted by YouGov and The Doha Debates.
The poll findings reveal a greater desire for freedom of speech in Arab
education systems than the mostly-Arab audience at a recent Doha Debate in
Qatar, where 53 percent of passed the motion ‘This House believes that
education is worthless without freedom of speech'.
The report demonstrates a widespread dissatisfaction with the status quo with
four in ten respondents stating that there is no freedom of speech in their
country of residence. At the same time nearly 85 percent of those surveyed
would like to see more freedom of speech. Only 28 percent of those polled
however stated that freedom of speech should have no limits.
The survey was completed by over 1000 respondents from 18 Arab countries in the
GCC, Levant and North Africa and was conducted between the 26 December 2010 and
3 January 2011.
The results also indicate that freedom of speech is not taken lightly in the
Arab world; a majority of those questioned -
more than 80 percent - believe the Arab
world would be more successful were it to enjoy greater freedom of speech.
While respondents in the region as a whole were split when questioned if their
country of residence is doing enough to reform the education system, more than 70 percent of North African respondents
indicated that their governments were falling short in this regard.
A poor education is however better than no education at all, according to
nearly 60 percent of those surveyed.
A majority of respondents look to the US as
home of the best education system internationally.
Polling dates: 26 December 2010 - 3 January 2011
Download the polling data [PDF]
Watch online
