Ministry of Education (Arab Union)

The Ministry of Education (Arabic: وزارة التعليم wuzārat at-ta‘līm) is a ministry of the federal government of the Arab Union. It oversees the country's system of public education, from preschool through primary and secondary to post-secondary institutions. As per Article 23, Section iii of the Constitution of the Arab Union, all educational institutions at all levels in the country are funded fully by the Ministry of Education, including colleges and universities and also non-Arabic-speaking institutions, such as the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the American University of Beirut.

The Ministry of Education sets general guidelines and standards for mostly primary and secondary (K–12) institutions, and also concerns itself with curricula and research activities of post-secondary institutions. The curriculum standards set out by the ministry for K–12 institutions are enforced by a series of superintendents and deputies under the Director of Public Curriculum. All institutions, including post-secondary, must be accredited by the separate State Accreditation Committee to receive funding from the Ministry of Education or legally operate in the country.

The 20 republics of the Arab Union do not have their own education ministries, and the republican governments actually play little role in the operation of the education system. As the federal government's Ministry of Education sets out the general standards of the public education system and ensures funding, the actual operation of all institutions is the responsibility of the particular municipality in which the institution is located, with each municipal council having its own local Department of Education which operates all local institutions and employs their personnel. One of the common justifications for the umbrella federal system is to ensure uniform quality of education and equality of access for all people in the Arab Union, regardless of geographic, ethnic, class, social or other distinctions, similar to the National Health Authority of the federal Ministry of Health.

The incumbent Minister of Education is Sari Nusseibeh, in office since 2010.